Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $395.50.

A number of brokerages recently commented on WSO. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, June 26th. DA Davidson reduced their price target on Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 price objective on Watsco in a research note on Thursday, July 30th.

Institutional Trading of Watsco

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 239,606 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $87,166,000 after buying an additional 26,003 shares during the period. Vantage Investment Partners LLC raised its position in Watsco by 70.0% during the fourth quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 166,172 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $55,992,000 after acquiring an additional 68,442 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its position in Watsco by 64.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 186,875 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $62,968,000 after acquiring an additional 72,977 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in Watsco by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 21,807 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,349,000 after acquiring an additional 1,382 shares during the period. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in Watsco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,528,000. 89.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $310.89 on Monday. Watsco has a 1 year low of $295.75 and a 1 year high of $459.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $355.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $382.28. The stock has a market cap of $12.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.96 and a beta of 1.05.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.41 by ($0.41). Watsco had a net margin of 6.53% and a return on equity of 14.40%. The business had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.52 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Watsco will post 12.21 earnings per share 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 issued a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 114.48%.

Watsco Company 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.