DA Davidson Upgrades Watsco (NYSE:WSO) to Hold

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) was upgraded by equities research analysts at DA Davidson to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Zacks Research raised Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Mizuho set a $425.00 price target on Watsco in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $397.71.

Watsco Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:WSO opened at $389.58 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $401.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $384.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.33 and a beta of 1.05. Watsco has a 52 week low of $323.05 and a 52 week high of $494.94.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Watsco

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSO. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Watsco by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 710 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,115 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $406,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,559 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $525,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 7,814 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,633,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Watsco by 5.2% during the second quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 783 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.