Triad Investment Management Takes Position in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Triad Investment Management purchased a new position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,445 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $824,000. Watsco accounts for 0.8% of Triad Investment Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WSO. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Watsco by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,927 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,013,000 after buying an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Watsco by 17.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 18,711 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $8,263,000 after acquiring an additional 2,803 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in Watsco by 5.3% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 3,837 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,694,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Watsco during the second quarter valued at approximately $445,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Watsco during the second quarter worth $84,826,000. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WSO. UBS Group began coverage on Watsco in a report on Monday, January 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Zacks Research raised Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $349.00 target price on Watsco in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $409.00.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSO opened at $375.76 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $393.00 and a 200-day moving average of $373.62. The company has a market capitalization of $15.26 billion, a PE ratio of 31.03 and a beta of 1.06. Watsco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $323.05 and a 52-week high of $521.09.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 6.87% and a return on equity of 15.49%. The company’s revenue was down 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.37 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th were given a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 16th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 99.09%.

Watsco Company 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.