Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Receives $399.83 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $399.8333.

WSO has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Mizuho set a $425.00 target price on Watsco in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Stephens raised their target price on Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Watsco

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WSO. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bayban acquired a new stake in Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new stake in Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSO opened at $367.91 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.96 billion, a PE ratio of 30.53 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a 50-day moving average of $399.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $381.73. Watsco has a 12 month low of $323.05 and a 12 month high of $494.94.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 15.31% and a net margin of 6.85%.The firm’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.93 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Watsco will post 12.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 16th were paid a dividend of $3.30 per share. This is a boost from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 16th. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Watsco’s payout ratio is 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.