Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday.

WSM has been the subject of several other research reports. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Monday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $146.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. Citigroup increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.31.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 1.7 %

WSM stock traded up $3.12 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $181.97. The stock had a trading volume of 1,023,159 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,069,113. Williams-Sonoma has a 1-year low of $109.44 and a 1-year high of $182.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $152.98 and a 200 day moving average of $136.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.55.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 16th. The specialty retailer reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.34 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.95 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 61.68% and a net margin of 11.99%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma will post 13.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Marta Benson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.68, for a total value of $1,406,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,630,201.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 1,811 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $271,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 563,698 shares in the company, valued at approximately $84,554,700. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Marta Benson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.68, for a total value of $1,406,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 54,238 shares in the company, valued at $7,630,201.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 130,000 shares of company stock valued at $19,496,290. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of Montreal Can bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter worth $3,662,000. SFE Investment Counsel lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 7.6% during the second quarter. SFE Investment Counsel now owns 32,903 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,117,000 after acquiring an additional 2,331 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 26.2% during the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 30,954 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,766,000 after acquiring an additional 6,424 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 12.5% during the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 2,892 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $352,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 28.2% during the first quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 308,130 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $37,487,000 after acquiring an additional 67,716 shares in the last quarter. 99.76% of the stock is currently owned by 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.