Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Monday morning.

WSM has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wedbush restated an outperform rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Oppenheimer restated a market perform rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, March 15th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a sell rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $249.31.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $294.47 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $260.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $207.89. The firm has a market cap of $18.88 billion, a PE ratio of 20.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.70. Williams-Sonoma has a 1-year low of $109.44 and a 1-year high of $319.78.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.06 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 55.15%. The company’s revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.50 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 24.71%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total transaction of $685,732.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,185,328.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total value of $330,973.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,013,591.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total transaction of $685,732.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,364 shares in the company, valued at $15,185,328.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 61,145 shares of company stock valued at $16,220,619. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at $152,843,000. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter worth $56,497,000. Steadfast Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth $50,715,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 24.1% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,408,911 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $204,292,000 after purchasing an additional 273,424 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth $29,782,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma Company Profile

Williams-Sonoma, Inc operates as an omni-channel specialty retailer of various products for home. It offers cooking, dining, and entertaining products, such as cookware, tools, electrics, cutlery, tabletop and bar, outdoor, furniture, and a library of cookbooks under the Williams Sonoma Home brand, as well as home furnishings and decorative accessories under the Williams Sonoma lifestyle brand; and furniture, bedding, lighting, rugs, table essentials, and decorative accessories under the Pottery Barn brand.