Brokerages Set Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Price Target at $409.00

Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $409.00.

Several analysts recently issued reports on WSO shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Watsco from $460.00 to $370.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Zacks Research upgraded Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Wolfe Research set a $349.00 target price on Watsco in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Mizuho set a $425.00 price target on Watsco in a report on Wednesday, February 18th.

Watsco Stock Performance

Watsco stock opened at $368.69 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $14.95 billion, a PE ratio of 30.45 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $393.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $376.21. Watsco has a twelve month low of $323.05 and a twelve month high of $521.70.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released 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 company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.37 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Watsco will post 14.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, January 16th were given a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.09%.

Institutional Trading of Watsco

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSO. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 710 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank increased its position in Watsco by 7.1% during the third quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 454 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $184,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Watsco by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,559 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $525,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Watsco by 0.7% during the second quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,700 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,076,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Watsco by 6.0% during the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 601 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is 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.