UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Invests $1.92 Million in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp purchased a new stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 4,601 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,917,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Watsco by 4.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,927 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,013,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 95.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,297 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $573,000 after buying an additional 632 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 50,442 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $22,275,000 after buying an additional 3,570 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 16,258 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,180,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Watsco by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 523 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSO has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, June 26th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a research report on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 price target on Watsco in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $395.50.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of WSO opened at $311.07 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $368.52 and a 200-day moving average of $387.71. The company has a market cap of $12.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.98 and a beta of 1.05. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $300.66 and a 1 year high of $459.00.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 6.53%.The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.52 EPS. Analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.43 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 16th were given a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 114.48%.

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.