Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Price Target Cut to $174.00 by Analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its price objective dropped by research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $201.00 to $174.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 9.80% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $175.94.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE WSM traded down $2.09 during trading on Monday, reaching $158.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 208,334 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,206,751. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.57 billion, a PE ratio of 18.76, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76. Williams-Sonoma has a 1-year low of $125.33 and a 1-year high of $219.98. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $161.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.64.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.44 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total transaction of $4,973,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,018,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $168,826,041.72. This trade represents a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total transaction of $1,212,240.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,505 shares in the company, valued at $2,501,002.65. This represents a 32.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 80,635 shares of company stock valued at $13,236,175. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter worth about $35,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

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.