Brokerages Set Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Target Price at $409.00

Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are currently 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 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $409.00.

WSO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group began coverage on Watsco in a research note on Monday, January 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Wolfe Research set a $349.00 price target on Watsco in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, December 12th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Watsco

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 103.1% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,559,965 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $525,634,000 after buying an additional 46,799 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Watsco by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,238,121 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $500,572,000 after buying an additional 16,595 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Watsco by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 638,014 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $214,373,000 after buying an additional 5,176 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in Watsco by 60,779.4% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 599,662 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $202,056,000 after acquiring an additional 598,677 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Price Performance

NYSE:WSO opened at $368.69 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $393.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $376.66. The firm has a market cap of $14.95 billion, a PE ratio of 30.45 and a beta of 1.03. Watsco has a 1-year low of $323.05 and a 1-year high of $521.70.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 15.49% and a net margin of 6.87%.The firm’s revenue was down 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.37 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Watsco will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, January 16th were given a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 16th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 99.09%.

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.