WESCO International (NYSE:WCC) Shares Down 10.9% – What’s Next?

WESCO International, Inc. (NYSE:WCC)’s share price dropped 10.9% on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as $312.06 and last traded at $313.3630. 138,271 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 606,798 shares. The stock had previously closed at $351.61.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WCC shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of WESCO International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Stephens upgraded WESCO International from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen raised WESCO International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of WESCO International from $435.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut WESCO International from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WESCO International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $405.33.

WESCO International Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $15.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $350.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $327.68. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

WESCO International (NYSE:WCC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The technology company reported $5.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.69 by $1.08. The firm had revenue of $7.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.87 billion. WESCO International had a net margin of 3.04% and a return on equity of 16.27%. The business’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.92 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that WESCO International, Inc. will post 18.41 earnings per share for the current year.

WESCO International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. WESCO International’s payout ratio is presently 12.41%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Laura K. Thompson sold 270 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.45, for a total transaction of $99,481.50. Following the sale, the director owned 10,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,949,784. The trade was a 2.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Akash Khurana sold 3,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $366.78, for a total value of $1,247,052.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 27,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,051,239.12. This represents a 11.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WCC. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of WESCO International during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,094,634,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in WESCO International in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $296,304,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in WESCO International in the second quarter worth $249,503,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its position in shares of WESCO International by 16.2% during the 2nd quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 653,591 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $225,770,000 after buying an additional 91,321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new stake in shares of WESCO International in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $175,189,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.75% of the company’s stock.

About WESCO International

WESCO International, Inc is a business-to-business provider of electrical, communications, security, and supply chain solutions. The company distributes products used in electrical and electronic systems, including wire and cable, lighting, circuit protection, automation and control equipment, data communications infrastructure, security products, and other electrical and industrial supplies.

WESCO serves a broad range of customers, including electrical and data communications contractors, industrial companies, original equipment manufacturers, utilities, commercial and institutional businesses, government entities, and telecommunications providers.