Loop Capital Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Stock

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its price target increased by Loop Capital from $145.00 to $180.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on WSM. Jefferies Financial Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.41.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 0.6 %

WSM stock traded up $0.95 during trading on Thursday, hitting $173.44. The company had a trading volume of 354,583 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,961,352. The stock has a market cap of $21.91 billion, a PE ratio of 20.46, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.76. The business has a 50-day moving average of $143.08 and a 200-day moving average of $144.74. Williams-Sonoma has a one year low of $90.31 and a one year high of $181.42.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 51.57%. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.56 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 26.97%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total transaction of $1,494,726.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,040,099. The trade was a 42.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total value of $5,810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. The trade was a 3.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 91,100 shares of company stock worth $12,525,126. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 186.0% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 7,536 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after acquiring an additional 4,901 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 97.1% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,167 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $955,000 after buying an additional 3,038 shares in the last quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 68.7% during the third quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC now owns 10,145 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,572,000 after buying an additional 4,132 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 105.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 173,621 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,897,000 after buying an additional 88,936 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $326,931,000 after acquiring an additional 1,145,410 shares during the last quarter. 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.