WESCO International (NYSE:WCC) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of WESCO International (NYSE:WCC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Thursday morning.

A number of other research firms have also commented on WCC. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of WESCO International from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of WESCO International from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on WESCO International from $205.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on WESCO International from $186.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on WESCO International from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.88.

WESCO International Stock Down 0.5 %

WCC stock opened at $183.21 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $8.98 billion, a PE ratio of 14.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 2.02. WESCO International has a 12 month low of $132.37 and a 12 month high of $216.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $195.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.53.

WESCO International (NYSE:WCC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The technology company reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $5.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.46 billion. WESCO International had a return on equity of 13.19% and a net margin of 3.19%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.49 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that WESCO International will post 12.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WESCO International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.4125 per share. This represents a $1.65 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. WESCO International’s payout ratio is presently 13.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Nelson John Squires III sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $1,900,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 54,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,377,990. The trade was a 15.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO David S. Schulz sold 14,938 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.55, for a total value of $3,085,443.90. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 104,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,578,485.05. This trade represents a 12.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,767 shares of company stock valued at $5,567,454 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WESCO International

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WCC. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in WESCO International by 23,727.4% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,589,048 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $251,896,000 after acquiring an additional 1,582,379 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of WESCO International by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 762,653 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $128,143,000 after purchasing an additional 22,080 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC bought a new stake in WESCO International during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $52,782,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC grew its holdings in WESCO International by 341.8% in the 3rd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 258,486 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $43,420,000 after buying an additional 199,975 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its position in WESCO International by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 194,979 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,753,000 after buying an additional 2,923 shares during the period. 93.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

WESCO International Company Profile

WESCO International, Inc provides business-to-business distribution, logistics services, and supply chain solutions in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Electrical & Electronic Solutions (EES), Communications & Security Solutions (CSS), and Utility and Broadband Solutions (UBS).