Watsco (NYSE:WSO) Upgraded by Zacks Research to “Hold” Rating

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on WSO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Watsco from $400.00 to $360.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Watsco from $505.00 to $460.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Watsco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $422.71.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSO opened at $341.63 on Monday. Watsco has a 1 year low of $323.05 and a 1 year high of $535.40. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $354.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $402.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.69 and a beta of 1.01.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The construction company reported $3.98 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter. Watsco had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.04%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Watsco will post 14.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Watsco

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WSO. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Watsco by 741.4% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,285,895 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $924,187,000 after buying an additional 2,014,233 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Watsco during the 2nd quarter worth about $84,826,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 62.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 468,875 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $238,329,000 after buying an additional 180,951 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 12,054.4% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 173,078 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $69,975,000 after purchasing an additional 171,654 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Watsco by 106.4% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 296,170 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $130,801,000 after buying an additional 152,662 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

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.