Watsco (NYSE:WSO) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on WSO. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Watsco from $350.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings cut Watsco from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Watsco from $370.00 to $330.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 12th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Watsco has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $373.62.

Watsco Trading Up 7.4%

Watsco stock opened at $327.64 on Wednesday. Watsco has a 12 month low of $277.34 and a 12 month high of $459.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $306.99 and its 200-day moving average is $358.70. The company has a market capitalization of $13.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.42 and a beta of 1.06.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.41 by ($0.41). The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 6.53%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Watsco will post 12.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Watsco

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 2.7% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,115 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $406,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in Watsco by 2.7% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 1,689 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $511,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Watsco by 10.5% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 496 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $181,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Watsco by 15.9% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 357 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intrinsic Value Partners LLC increased its stake in Watsco by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Intrinsic Value Partners LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $651,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Watsco

Watsco, Inc (NYSE: WSO) is a distributor of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) equipment and related products. The company supplies residential and light commercial air-conditioning and heating systems, refrigeration equipment, replacement parts, and other supplies used by contractors and service professionals.

Watsco distributes products from leading HVAC/R manufacturers, including equipment and components such as air conditioners, heat pumps, furnaces, air handlers, thermostats, controls, motors and indoor air-quality products.