Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Given New $180.00 Price Target at Evercore ISI

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its target price boosted by equities researchers at Evercore ISI from $140.00 to $180.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “in-line” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price target indicates a potential upside of 5.63% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $148.47.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WSM traded down $4.64 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $170.40. 987,790 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,958,437. Williams-Sonoma has a twelve month low of $89.87 and a twelve month high of $181.42. The firm has a market cap of $21.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.48, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $142.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $144.55.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.56 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total transaction of $1,494,726.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 sale 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 the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total transaction of $5,219,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 990,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $129,309,848.44. The trade was a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 91,100 shares of company stock worth $12,525,126. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Quent Capital LLC increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 19.7% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 358 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 28.8% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 7,281 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,312,000 after purchasing an additional 1,629 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at $286,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 374.8% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 489 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $155,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lake Street Advisors Group LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter worth $239,000. 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.