Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Decreases Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd cut its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 53.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,620 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,892 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Watsco were worth $589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WSO. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Bayban bought a new position in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Watsco in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watsco Stock Performance

WSO stock opened at $393.45 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $16.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.65 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s 50-day moving average is $392.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $391.68. Watsco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $323.05 and a fifty-two week high of $494.94.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.14. Watsco had a return on equity of 15.31% and a net margin of 6.85%.The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.93 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 16th will be given a dividend of $3.30 per share. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 16th. Watsco’s payout ratio is 109.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on WSO shares. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $385.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $402.71.

Watsco 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.