Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Stock

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by Barclays from $123.00 to $131.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "underweight" rating on the specialty retailer's stock. Barclays's price target indicates a potential downside of 22.34% from the company's current price.

WSM has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Loop Capital raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $173.78.

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Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 3.6 %

WSM stock traded down $6.22 during trading on Thursday, reaching $168.68. The stock had a trading volume of 272,091 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,401,181. Williams-Sonoma has a 52 week low of $125.33 and a 52 week high of $219.98. The firm has a market cap of $20.76 billion, a PE ratio of 19.95, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. The stock's 50 day moving average is $200.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.66.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total transaction of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at $196,263,808.16. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $273,602.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $9,014,116.16. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 11,225 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,079,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 396 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,474 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $643,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Westmount Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 6,242 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,156,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Bailard Inc. grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 4,091 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $758,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.

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