Intrinsic Value Partners LLC Takes Position in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Intrinsic Value Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,739 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $586,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 2,014,233 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Watsco by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,238,121 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $500,572,000 after acquiring an additional 16,595 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its stake in Watsco by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 470,177 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $159,293,000 after acquiring an additional 113,333 shares in the last quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Watsco by 13.3% during the third quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 405,480 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $163,936,000 after acquiring an additional 47,643 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in Watsco by 0.4% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 390,480 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $157,871,000 after acquiring an additional 1,376 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of WSO stock opened at $382.44 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $392.13 and its 200-day moving average is $373.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.53 billion, a PE ratio of 31.58 and a beta of 1.06. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $323.05 and a 52 week high of $518.00.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.94 by ($0.26). The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 15.49% and a net margin of 6.87%.Watsco’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.37 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 16th will be issued a dividend of $3.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 16th. This is a boost from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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 upgraded Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Wolfe Research set a $349.00 price objective on Watsco in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Mizuho set a $425.00 price objective on Watsco in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $409.00.

Watsco Company Profile

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.