6,188 Shares in Watsco, Inc. $WSO Bought by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 6,188 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,085,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 151.4% during the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 181 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco during the third quarter worth $74,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 86.6% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 209 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WSO shares. Stephens lifted their price objective on Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Mizuho set a $425.00 price objective on Watsco in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $399.83.

Watsco Trading Down 0.2%

WSO stock opened at $381.27 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $400.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $381.73. The firm has a market cap of $15.50 billion, a PE ratio of 31.64 and a beta of 1.12. Watsco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $323.05 and a 1-year high of $494.94.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 15.31% and a net margin of 6.85%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.93 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

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

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.