Watsco (NYSE:WSO) Price Target Raised to $400.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) had its price objective raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $370.00 to $400.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the construction company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Monday, January 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Watsco from $460.00 to $370.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Zacks Research lowered Watsco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Mizuho set a $425.00 target price on Watsco in a report on Wednesday. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $416.29.

Watsco Stock Down 2.4%

NYSE WSO opened at $409.07 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $16.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.78 and a beta of 1.04. Watsco has a 52 week low of $323.05 and a 52 week high of $533.07. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $376.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $378.92.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by ($0.26). Watsco had a return on equity of 15.49% and a net margin of 6.87%.The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.37 earnings per share. Watsco’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Watsco will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 16th were paid a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 16th. Watsco’s payout ratio is presently 93.75%.

Institutional Trading of Watsco

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Watsco by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,927 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,013,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 18.1% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 398 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $176,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its position in Watsco by 98.8% during the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 795 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 395 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in Watsco by 2.2% during the second quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 9,848 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,349,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in Watsco by 194.6% in the second quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 2,669 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,179,000 after acquiring an additional 1,763 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Watsco

Watsco, Inc is the largest distributor of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) equipment, parts and supplies in the United States. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, the company operates a network of more than 600 branches across the continental U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Watsco serves residential and commercial contractors by providing essential components for climate control systems, including air conditioners, furnaces, heat pumps, coils, refrigerants, controls and electrical and piping supplies.

Founded in 1947, Watsco has grown from a single regional distributor into an industry leader through a combination of organic expansion, acquisitions and strategic partnerships with original equipment manufacturers such as Carrier, Trane, Goodman and Lennox.