StockNews.com Downgrades Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) to Hold

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on WSM. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $260.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $249.31.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE WSM traded down $1.19 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $308.22. 703,888 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,048,343. Williams-Sonoma has a 1 year low of $109.44 and a 1 year high of $319.78. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $251.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $204.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.69.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.06 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company earned $5.50 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.92, for a total value of $4,038,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 525,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $106,110,777.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.92, for a total value of $4,038,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 525,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $106,110,777.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total transaction of $330,973.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,966 shares in the company, valued at $2,013,591.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 61,145 shares of company stock valued at $16,220,619 over the last three months. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WSM. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 129.3% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 188 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 863.6% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 212 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 820.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 230 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.