UBS Group Raises Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Price Target to $140.00

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) had its price objective lifted by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $110.00 to $140.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “sell” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. UBS Group’s price target would suggest a potential downside of 20.87% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on WSM. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $144.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $127.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Friday, September 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $125.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $150.78.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE:WSM traded up $5.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $176.92. The stock had a trading volume of 475,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,061,679. The company has a market capitalization of $11.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.55. Williams-Sonoma has a 1-year low of $109.44 and a 1-year high of $176.95. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $152.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $135.93.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 16th. The specialty retailer reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.34 by $0.32. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 64.43% and a net margin of 11.68%. The company had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.95 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma will post 13.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Marta Benson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.68, for a total value of $1,406,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 54,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,630,201.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 18,189 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.92, for a total transaction of $2,817,839.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 545,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $84,510,254.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marta Benson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.68, for a total value of $1,406,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 54,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,630,201.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 130,000 shares of company stock valued at $19,496,290. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 235.2% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,384,403 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $168,426,000 after purchasing an additional 971,370 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth approximately $55,499,000. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the second quarter worth approximately $56,497,000. Steadfast Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at $50,715,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 320.6% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 426,300 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $12,022,000 after acquiring an additional 324,941 shares during the last quarter. 99.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.