Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Telsey Advisory Group Analyst Says

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its target price upped by Telsey Advisory Group from $225.00 to $255.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. Telsey Advisory Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 3.92% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on WSM. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Monday. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, June 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Evercore set a $240.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.06.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE WSM opened at $245.38 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $228.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $206.07. The firm has a market cap of $28.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.48, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.50. Williams-Sonoma has a 1 year low of $165.51 and a 1 year high of $254.89.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 53.29%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.85 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $3,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 923,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $184,704,800. This represents a 1.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 522 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.39, for a total value of $128,615.58. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,195 shares in the company, valued at $4,975,846.05. This trade represents a 2.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 18,156 shares of company stock worth $3,738,699 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,248,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at $227,000. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth $1,644,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 4,153 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 5.9% in the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,631 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $757,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

About Williams-Sonoma

Williams?Sonoma, Inc is a specialty retailer focused on the home and culinary markets, best known for premium cookware, kitchen tools and home furnishings. The company traces its roots to a single cookware store founded by Chuck Williams in 1956 in Sonoma, California, and has evolved into a multi?brand home furnishings and housewares business. Its merchandise mix spans cookware and kitchen electrics, tabletop and food prep items, furniture, bedding, lighting and decorative accessories designed for both everyday use and higher?end interiors.

The company operates a portfolio of consumer brands that target distinct segments of the home market.