Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) – Research analysts at KeyCorp upped their Q2 2019 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Williams-Sonoma in a report issued on Wednesday, May 23rd. KeyCorp analyst B. Thomas now anticipates that the specialty retailer will post earnings of $0.70 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $0.67. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Williams-Sonoma’s Q3 2019 earnings at $0.92 EPS, Q4 2019 earnings at $2.04 EPS and FY2020 earnings at $4.55 EPS.
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Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 27.10%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year.
A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $56.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.00.
Williams-Sonoma opened at $53.10 on Friday, according to MarketBeat. Williams-Sonoma has a 12-month low of $42.68 and a 12-month high of $56.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market cap of $4.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.73.
Williams-Sonoma announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 14th that authorizes the company to repurchase $286.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 27th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 26th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.65%.
In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 97,965 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.21, for a total transaction of $5,310,682.65. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 264,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,345,104.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Janet Hayes sold 9,034 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.66, for a total transaction of $466,696.44. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,563 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,992,164.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Long Island Investors LLC grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. First Long Island Investors LLC now owns 238,382 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $12,324,000 after acquiring an additional 992 shares during the period. Ironwood Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Ironwood Investment Management LLC now owns 10,739 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $555,000 after acquiring an additional 1,075 shares during the period. Advisor Group Inc. grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. Advisor Group Inc. now owns 6,112 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094 shares during the period. Hutchinson Capital Management CA grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Hutchinson Capital Management CA now owns 355,512 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $18,380,000 after acquiring an additional 1,163 shares during the period. Finally, Peloton Wealth Strategists grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Peloton Wealth Strategists now owns 17,664 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $932,000 after acquiring an additional 1,203 shares during the period.
Williams-Sonoma Company Profile
Williams-Sonoma, Inc operates as a multi-channel specialty retailer of various products for home. It operates through two segments, E-commerce and Retail. The company offers cooking, dining, and entertaining products, including cookware, tools, electrics, cutlery, tabletop and bar, outdoor, furniture, and a library of cookbooks under the Williams Sonoma brand, as well as home furnishings and decorative accessories under the Williams Sonoma Home brand; and furniture, bedding, bathroom accessories, rugs, curtains, lighting, tabletop, outdoor, and decorative accessories under the Pottery Barn brand.
