Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Upgraded at Robert W. Baird

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Robert W. Baird from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $170.00 price objective on the specialty retailer's stock. Robert W. Baird's price target indicates a potential upside of 14.91% from the company's current price.

WSM has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, April 4th. UBS Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $178.93.

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Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WSM traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $147.95. 1,802,890 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,062,615. Williams-Sonoma has a twelve month low of $125.33 and a twelve month high of $219.98. The firm has a market cap of $18.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.50, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $179.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $173.66.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total value of $1,212,240.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,501,002.65. This trade represents a 32.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 120,720 shares of company stock valued at $21,828,609 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 7,731 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,222,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter worth about $235,000. Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth about $1,423,000. Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 45.7% during the 1st quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,955 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,241 shares during the period. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.