Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) Shares Gap Down - What's Next?

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) shares gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $165.01, but opened at $142.35. Williams-Sonoma shares last traded at $135.85, with a volume of 784,630 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSM has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective 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. Wedbush cut their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Baird R W raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $178.93.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $186.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $174.08. The company has a market cap of $17.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.30%.

Insider Activity

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total value of $4,973,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,018,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $168,826,041.72. This trade represents a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 112,720 shares of company stock worth $20,616,369 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter worth about $369,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 122.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 392 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 147.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 26,511 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $4,107,000 after buying an additional 15,807 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 94.8% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 19,535 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,026,000 after buying an additional 9,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter worth $387,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Company Profile

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.