Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) to Issue $3.30 Quarterly Dividend

Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 16th will be paid a dividend of 3.30 per share by the construction company on Friday, July 31st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 16th.

Watsco has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 13 consecutive years. Watsco has a payout ratio of 85.3% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings fall. Research analysts expect Watsco to earn $13.88 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $13.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 95.1%.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WSO traded down $9.46 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $407.27. 392,540 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 432,610. Watsco has a 12-month low of $323.05 and a 12-month high of $494.94. The firm has a market cap of $16.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.80 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $400.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $388.84.

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

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.