Citigroup Lowers Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Price Target to $134.00

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its price objective trimmed by Citigroup from $140.00 to $134.00 in a research report report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

WSM has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Barclays cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $232.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Wedbush cut Williams-Sonoma from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $150.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $139.47.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock traded down $4.11 on Friday, reaching $129.80. The stock had a trading volume of 1,665,603 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,919,353. Williams-Sonoma has a fifty-two week low of $71.92 and a fifty-two week high of $174.26. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $141.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.92. The stock has a market cap of $16.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.76.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its earnings results 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. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.57% and a net margin of 14.29%. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 27.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total transaction of $5,810,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,030,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 520.0% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 93 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.