Shares Of Williams-Sonoma Rally Amid Q1 Beat, Solid Comps And Raised Outlook

Traders and investors in Williams-Sonoma (NYSE: WSM) are applauding the company's first-quarter results and strong full-year outlook Wednesday afternoon, bidding shares up by nearly six percent. The company posted quarterly sales of $974 million, up nearly 10 percent from the first quarter of 2013. Analysts were expecting Williams-Sonoma to report revenue of $941.99 million. Overall same-store sales were up 10 percent, compared to a 7.2 percent growth rate during the same quarter last year. The company's Pottery Barn brand saw a 9.7 percent increase in comps, the Williams-Sonoma brand saw a six percent increase in comps, West Elm saw a solid 18.8 percent increase in comparable-store sales, and PBteen comps were up 12 percent.Williams-Sonoma reported operating income growth of 16.5 percent from $39.466 million last year to $46.162 million. On a per-share basis, diluted profit totaled $0.48, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $0.44.Second-quarter EPS is expected in the range of $0.49-$0.52 according to the company, which compares to the current Wall Street estimate of $0.55. Sales will likely be between $1.02 and $1.04 billion, lower than the analyst estimate of $1.05 billion. Looking ahead to the fiscal year 2014, Williams-Sonoma boosted the EPS outlook from $3.05-$3.15 previously to a new range of $3.07-$3.17. Analysts are expecting the company to report FY14 EPS of $3.17.Shares of Williams-Sonoma last traded at $67.45.