Remain Cautious On Williams-Sonoma Heading Into Q4 Results

Despite maintaining a Buy rating on Williams-Sonoma, Inc. WSM, Nomura's Jessica Schoen Mace remains cautious heading in to the company’s fourth quarter earnings on Wednesday.

Williams-Sonoma’s top-line and margins remained under pressure during the fourth quarter, and the analyst’s checks confirm the environment was “very challenging” during the quarter.

“After a choppy 2016, we suspect that WSM was not immune to the widespread volatility and pressured traffic trends seen at retail in the Holiday period. We also see the potential for incremental promotional activity to have weighed on margins,” Mace wrote in a note.

Mace expects fourth quarter EPS of $1.45, at the low end of company guidance and below consensus on both a comp and EPS basis. The analyst sees EPS of $3.34 for FY16E and $3.70 for FY2017.

At last check, shares of Williams-Sonoma were down 0.55 percent to $47.36. The analyst has a price target of $65.

Related:

5 Stocks To Watch For March 14, 2017

Citigroup, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs And Intel: Fast Money Picks For March 14