Waverly Advisors LLC Purchases New Position in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Waverly Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,100 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,128,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bayban acquired a new position in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Bamco Inc. NY bought a new position in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on WSO shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Stephens lifted their target price on Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 target price on Watsco in a report on Thursday. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $395.50.

Watsco Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of WSO opened at $308.82 on Friday. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $300.66 and a 12 month high of $459.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $379.48 and its 200-day moving average is $392.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.56 billion, a PE ratio of 26.78 and a beta of 1.02.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 16th were issued a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 109.54%.

Watsco 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.