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

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Watsco in a research note on Monday, January 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Watsco from $460.00 to $370.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $349.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Watsco currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $409.00.

Watsco Price Performance

WSO stock opened at $410.97 on Wednesday. Watsco has a 12 month low of $323.05 and a 12 month high of $533.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $383.35 and its 200 day moving average is $378.60. The company has a market capitalization of $16.67 billion, a PE ratio of 33.94 and a beta of 1.04.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 15.49% and a net margin of 6.87%.Watsco’s revenue was down 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.37 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Watsco will post 14.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 103.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,642,893 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,564,423,000 after purchasing an additional 2,356,998 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in Watsco by 60,779.4% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 599,662 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $202,056,000 after buying an additional 598,677 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Watsco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $110,853,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Watsco by 202.6% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 472,182 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $159,102,000 after acquiring an additional 316,129 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its stake in Watsco by 12,054.4% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 173,078 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $69,975,000 after acquiring an additional 171,654 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.