Mizuho Has Lowered Expectations for Watsco (NYSE:WSO) Stock Price

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) had its price target dropped by equities researchers at Mizuho from $400.00 to $370.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the construction company’s stock. Mizuho’s target price suggests a potential upside of 6.51% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on WSO. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Watsco from $425.00 to $390.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Watsco from $400.00 to $360.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wolfe Research set a $349.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Watsco currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $418.43.

Watsco Stock Up 3.1%

WSO stock opened at $347.37 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $347.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $393.70. Watsco has a 52-week low of $323.05 and a 52-week high of $535.40. The company has a market capitalization of $14.09 billion, a PE ratio of 27.14 and a beta of 1.03.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The construction company reported $3.98 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 16.48%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Watsco will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Watsco

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Watsco during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 2,366.7% in the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 74 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 242.9% in the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 72 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Watsco in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Watsco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

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.