Watsco, Inc. (WSO) To Go Ex-Dividend on July 16th

Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 16th will be given a dividend of 3.30 per share by the construction company on Friday, July 31st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 16th.

Watsco has raised its dividend by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 13 years. Watsco has a payout ratio of 85.3% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings tumble. Equities research analysts expect Watsco to earn $13.88 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $13.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 95.1%.

Watsco Stock Performance

Watsco stock opened at $403.43 on Friday. Watsco has a one year low of $323.05 and a one year high of $494.94. The stock has a market cap of $16.40 billion, a PE ratio of 33.48 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $399.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $389.52.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 15.31% and a net margin of 6.85%.The company’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.93 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Watsco will post 12.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Watsco

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSO. Comerica Bank raised its holdings in Watsco by 36.3% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 45,756 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $15,417,000 after acquiring an additional 12,190 shares in the last quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 41.5% in the 4th quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. now owns 55,692 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $18,765,000 after purchasing an additional 16,322 shares during the last quarter. Crown Oak Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Watsco by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Crown Oak Advisors LLC now owns 26,721 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $9,004,000 after acquiring an additional 2,800 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 741.4% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,285,895 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $924,187,000 after buying an additional 2,014,233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its stake in Watsco by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 470,177 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $159,293,000 after acquiring an additional 113,333 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

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.