Watsco (NYSE:WSO) Announces Earnings Results

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The construction company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.24, Zacks reports. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 17.61%. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion.

Watsco Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of WSO opened at $511.11 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $484.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $491.75. The company has a market capitalization of $20.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.57 and a beta of 0.95. Watsco has a 52-week low of $373.33 and a 52-week high of $571.41.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a $2.70 dividend. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WSO. Northcoast Research began coverage on Watsco in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Raymond James began coverage on Watsco in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $495.00.

Insider Activity at Watsco

In other news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.21, for a total value of $5,589,293.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 12.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Watsco Company Profile

Watsco, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the distribution of air conditioning, heating, refrigeration equipment, and related parts and supplies in the United States and internationally. The company distributes equipment, including residential ducted and ductless air conditioners, such as gas, electric, and oil furnaces; commercial air conditioning and heating equipment systems; and other specialized equipment.