Watsco (NYSE:WSO) Upgraded to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Watsco (NYSE:WSO) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks reports.

WSO has been the subject of several other reports. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Watsco from $350.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 price target on Watsco in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Watsco from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a report on Monday, August 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $373.62.

Watsco Trading Up 7.4%

Shares of NYSE:WSO opened at $327.64 on Wednesday. Watsco has a twelve month low of $277.34 and a twelve month high of $459.00. The firm has a market cap of $13.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.42 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a 50 day moving average of $306.99 and a 200-day moving average of $358.70.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by ($0.41). The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 6.53%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Watsco will post 12.19 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 16th will be issued a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 16th. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 114.48%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Markel Group Inc. raised its position in Watsco by 0.8% during the first quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 582,169 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $211,787,000 after buying an additional 4,500 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Watsco during the 3rd quarter worth about $96,991,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Watsco during the 2nd quarter worth about $119,291,000. Caledonia Investments PLC grew its stake in Watsco by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Caledonia Investments PLC now owns 261,439 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $79,072,000 after acquiring an additional 28,512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Watsco in the 2nd quarter valued at about $97,937,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

About Watsco

Watsco, Inc (NYSE: WSO) is a distributor of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) equipment and related products. The company supplies residential and light commercial air-conditioning and heating systems, refrigeration equipment, replacement parts, and other supplies used by contractors and service professionals.

Watsco distributes products from leading HVAC/R manufacturers, including equipment and components such as air conditioners, heat pumps, furnaces, air handlers, thermostats, controls, motors and indoor air-quality products.