Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.13 EPS

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.13, Briefing.com reports. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.83% and a return on equity of 54.50%. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Williams-Sonoma updated its FY 2024 guidance to EPS.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $139.57 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $146.15 and a 200-day moving average of $141.80. The company has a market capitalization of $17.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.75. Williams-Sonoma has a 1 year low of $69.02 and a 1 year high of $174.26.

Williams-Sonoma Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 19th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 19th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on WSM. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Wedbush decreased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $137.50 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $134.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.45, for a total value of $6,258,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,070,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $167,551,066.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.45, for a total transaction of $6,258,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,070,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $167,551,066.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Monica Bhargava sold 17,862 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.14, for a total transaction of $2,663,938.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.