Watsco, Inc. (WSO) To Go Ex-Dividend on October 16th

Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, October 16th will be given a dividend of $3.30 per share by the construction company on Friday, October 30th. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 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 $13.42 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 98.4%.

Watsco Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of WSO opened at $291.76 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $309.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $361.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.30 and a beta of 1.06. Watsco has a 1-year low of $277.34 and a 1-year high of $459.00.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by ($0.41). Watsco had a net margin of 6.53% and a return on equity of 14.40%. The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.52 earnings per share. Watsco’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Watsco will post 12.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Watsco from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Zacks Research cut shares of Watsco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $330.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $386.12.

About Watsco

Watsco, Inc (NYSE: WSO) is a distributor of heating, air conditioning and refrigeration equipment and related products. The company supplies residential and commercial contractors with air conditioners, heat pumps, furnaces, refrigeration systems, indoor air-quality products, controls, replacement parts and other installation supplies.

Watsco serves the replacement and new-construction markets through a network of distribution centers, branches, showrooms and e-commerce platforms. Its customers primarily include HVAC and refrigeration contractors, dealers and other industry professionals, while its products are sourced from major manufacturers and distributed under leading industry brands.

Founded in 1956, Watsco has expanded through organic growth and acquisitions to become one of the largest HVAC and refrigeration distributors in North America.