Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Baird R W

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) was upgraded by analysts at Baird R W from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday. Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $178.93.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $145.01 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $186.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $174.08. The firm has a market cap of $17.91 billion, a PE ratio of 17.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76. Williams-Sonoma has a twelve month low of $125.33 and a twelve month high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.44 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total transaction of $9,349,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $273,602.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $9,014,116.16. This trade represents a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 112,720 shares of company stock valued at $20,616,369. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WSM. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 94.8% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 19,535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,026,000 after purchasing an additional 9,509 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 109,359 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $20,251,000 after purchasing an additional 5,337 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 48.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 527,740 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $97,875,000 after buying an additional 172,409 shares during the period. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 316,535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $58,616,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 132.0% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,905 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $723,000 after buying an additional 2,222 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently 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.