Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $397.7143.

Several brokerages recently commented on WSO. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $385.00 target price for the company. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th.

Institutional Trading of Watsco

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WSO. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Watsco by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,927 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,013,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in Watsco by 95.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,297 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $573,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Watsco by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 50,442 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $22,275,000 after purchasing an additional 3,570 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in Watsco by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 16,258 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,180,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Watsco by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 523 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of WSO opened at $387.01 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $401.77 and a 200-day moving average of $386.58. Watsco has a one year low of $323.05 and a one year high of $494.94. The company has a market cap of $15.74 billion, a PE ratio of 32.12 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 16th were issued a dividend of $3.30 per share. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 16th. This is a positive change from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. Watsco’s payout ratio is presently 109.54%.

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.