Watsco (NYSE:WSO) Price Target Cut to $325.00 by Analysts at Mizuho

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) had its price objective cut by equities research analysts at Mizuho from $350.00 to $325.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the construction company’s stock. Mizuho’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 7.92% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on WSO. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $330.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings downgraded Watsco from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Watsco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $373.62.

Watsco Stock Up 2.1%

WSO traded up $6.06 during trading on Thursday, reaching $301.15. 192,617 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 454,045. The company’s 50-day moving average is $308.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $361.17. The company has a market cap of $12.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.12 and a beta of 1.06. Watsco has a 12-month low of $277.34 and a 12-month high of $459.00.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted 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 company had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.14 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.53% and a return on equity of 14.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.52 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Watsco will post 12.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Watsco

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WSO. Markel Group Inc. increased its stake in Watsco by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 582,169 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $211,787,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco during the third quarter valued at approximately $96,991,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco during the second quarter valued at approximately $119,291,000. Caledonia Investments PLC boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 12.2% during the third quarter. Caledonia Investments PLC now owns 261,439 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $79,072,000 after purchasing an additional 28,512 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Watsco during the 2nd quarter valued at $97,937,000. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

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.