Analysts Set Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Target Price at $198.56

Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have given a hold recommendation, eight have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $198.5556.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WSM shares. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $181.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Argus set a $212.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $194.19 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $194.75 and a 200 day moving average of $178.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.55. Williams-Sonoma has a 12-month low of $125.33 and a 12-month high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 54.47%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.74 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 17th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 29.04%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.79, for a total value of $695,765.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,783,656.37. The trade was a 20.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 90,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.17, for a total transaction of $18,015,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 876,927 shares in the company, valued at $175,534,477.59. This trade represents a 9.31% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 114,153 shares of company stock worth $22,901,008 over the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Groupe la Francaise raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 8.2% during the second quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 631 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 2.1% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,016 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $493,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 3.3% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,936 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 15.3% during the first quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 482 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kera Capital Partners Inc. raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 3.6% during the third quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,879 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

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.