Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Raised to Buy at The Goldman Sachs Group

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) was upgraded by The Goldman Sachs Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday. The firm currently has a $218.00 target price on the specialty retailer’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 15.22% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on WSM. UBS Group raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Zelman & Associates raised Williams-Sonoma from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $205.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $206.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.50.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE WSM opened at $189.20 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.52 billion, a PE ratio of 21.38, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.58. Williams-Sonoma has a 1 year low of $134.44 and a 1 year high of $222.00. The business’s 50-day moving average is $195.88 and its 200 day moving average is $193.03.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The specialty retailer reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.41 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.45% and a net margin of 13.94%.Williams-Sonoma’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.04, for a total transaction of $3,660,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 786,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $143,967,732.48. The trade was a 2.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 2,267 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.49, for a total value of $436,374.83. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 23,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,494,833.99. The trade was a 8.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 92,137 shares of company stock valued at $17,684,631. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Williams-Sonoma

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,139,477 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,199,961,000 after purchasing an additional 147,780 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,440,452 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $435,840,000 after purchasing an additional 170,991 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,919,466 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $342,797,000 after purchasing an additional 130,940 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $316,920,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,661,365 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $296,703,000 after purchasing an additional 86,807 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Williams-Sonoma

Williams‑Sonoma, Inc is a specialty retailer focused on the home and culinary markets, best known for premium cookware, kitchen tools and home furnishings. The company traces its roots to a single cookware store founded by Chuck Williams in 1956 in Sonoma, California, and has evolved into a multi‑brand home furnishings and housewares business. Its merchandise mix spans cookware and kitchen electrics, tabletop and food prep items, furniture, bedding, lighting and decorative accessories designed for both everyday use and higher‑end interiors.

The company operates a portfolio of consumer brands that target distinct segments of the home market.