Benjamin Edwards Inc. Raises Holdings in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 128,440 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,333 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $56,722,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WSO. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Watsco during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its position in Watsco by 242.9% during the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 72 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Watsco in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Watsco in the first quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of WSO stock opened at $354.39 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $356.48 and its 200 day moving average is $404.31. The stock has a market cap of $14.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.69 and a beta of 1.01. Watsco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $323.05 and a twelve month high of $535.40.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The construction company reported $3.98 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter. Watsco had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.04%. Equities research analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 16th were given a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 16th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WSO. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Watsco from $505.00 to $460.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Watsco from $425.00 to $390.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Zacks Research cut Watsco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $422.71.

Watsco Profile

Watsco, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the distribution of air conditioning, heating, refrigeration equipment, and related parts and supplies in the United States and internationally. The company distributes equipment, including residential ducted and ductless air conditioners, such as gas, electric, and oil furnaces; commercial air conditioning and heating equipment systems; and other specialized equipment.