Barclays Reiterates its Equal Weight Rating of Williams-Sonoma while Maintaining its Price Target

According to a Barclays report released Friday, it it reiterating its Equal Weight rating of Williams-Sonoma

while holding its price target steady at $38. In the report, Barclays writes, "We estimate 2Q EPS of $0.43: Our 2Q EPS estimate of $0.43 compares to management's guidance of $0.38 - $0.41. We forecast 2Q same-store sales of 2.5% versus a 1.4% compare from last year. Management did not provide comp expectations for 2Q. We believe that performance was reasonably strong across the company's five concepts, although we believe challenges in branded kitchen and cookware products at Williams-Sonoma stores likely continued during the quarter. Recall, in our detail home furnishings pricing study, we found that, on a per-item basis, Williams-Sonoma was 7.5% more expensive than Amazon, 1% more expensive than Bed Bath & Beyond, (4.9)% cheaper than Macy's and 4.2% more expensive than J.C. Penney." Williams-Sonoma traded around $37.50 Friday, down nearly 2.5 percent year-to-date.