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Williams-Sonoma (WSM) Advances While Market Declines: Some Information for Investors

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In the latest close session, Williams-Sonoma (WSM - Free Report) was up +1.68% at $202.02. The stock exceeded the S&P 500, which registered a loss of 0.24% for the day. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a drop of 0.01%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 0.26%.

Heading into today, shares of the seller of cookware and home furnishings had gained 11.36% over the past month, outpacing the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 7.72% and the S&P 500's gain of 6.42%.

Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Williams-Sonoma in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $1.79, showcasing a 3.24% downward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $1.8 billion, showing a 4.3% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.

Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $9.19 per share and revenue of $8.14 billion. These totals would mark changes of +3.96% and +4.33%, respectively, from last year.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Williams-Sonoma. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the business health and profitability.

Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.49% higher. Williams-Sonoma is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

Looking at valuation, Williams-Sonoma is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 21.63. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 21.63, which means Williams-Sonoma is trading at no noticeable deviation to the group.

We can additionally observe that WSM currently boasts a PEG ratio of 2.51. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. The Retail - Home Furnishings industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.58 as trading concluded yesterday.

The Retail - Home Furnishings industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 94, placing it within the top 39% of over 250 industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.

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