Evercore ISI Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Stock Price

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its price target lowered by Evercore ISI from $175.00 to $170.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “in-line” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 7.52% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. KeyCorp raised Williams-Sonoma from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $181.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Zelman & Associates initiated coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an “underperform” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $176.75.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.0%

WSM stock traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $158.11. 664,923 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,995,246. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.45 billion, a PE ratio of 18.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.47. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $157.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.62. Williams-Sonoma has a 1-year low of $125.33 and a 1-year high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.48 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total value of $4,973,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,018,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $168,826,041.72. This represents a 2.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total transaction of $1,212,240.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,501,002.65. The trade was a 32.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 113,227 shares of company stock valued at $18,520,913. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Redwood Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $1,424,000. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC now owns 23,950 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,435,000 after buying an additional 7,564 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 109,359 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $20,251,000 after acquiring an additional 5,337 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 316,535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $58,616,000 after acquiring an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 132.0% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,905 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $723,000 after acquiring an additional 2,222 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.