Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $399.8333.

WSO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Mizuho set a $425.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a report on Wednesday, February 18th.

Watsco Price Performance

WSO stock opened at $381.27 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $400.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $381.73. The company has a market capitalization of $15.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.64 and a beta of 1.12. Watsco has a 12 month low of $323.05 and a 12 month high of $494.94.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.93 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Watsco will post 12.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 16th were issued a dividend of $3.30 per share. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. This is a boost from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 16th. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 109.54%.

Institutional Trading of Watsco

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Watsco by 103.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,642,893 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,564,423,000 after purchasing an additional 2,356,998 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in Watsco by 60,779.4% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 599,662 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $202,056,000 after purchasing an additional 598,677 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at $110,853,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Watsco by 202.6% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 472,182 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $159,102,000 after purchasing an additional 316,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in Watsco by 12,054.4% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 173,078 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $69,975,000 after purchasing an additional 171,654 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.