Victory Capital Management Inc. Buys 22,751 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 107.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,023 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,751 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Watsco worth $17,798,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 242.9% during the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 72 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its stake in Watsco by 2,366.7% in the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 74 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Watsco in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 4,700.0% during the 2nd quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 96 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Watsco in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Watsco

Here are the key news stories impacting Watsco this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Short interest fell 12.4% to 3.08M shares as of Feb. 27, lowering the short-interest ratio to ~7.8 days and removing some downside pressure from crowded bearish bets.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised several later-period estimates and long-range outlooks — including Q3 2027 (to $4.77), Q4 2027 (to $2.42) and FY2028 (to $15.63) — signaling upside to 2027–2028 earnings expectations even as near-term estimates move around.
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish coverage highlighting Watsco as an undervalued HVAC/R player with strong dividend-growth potential may support buyer interest for long-term investors. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks continues to carry a “Hold” rating on WSO; its revisions are mixed across quarters, so analyst sentiment is not turning uniformly bullish or bearish at this stage.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks cut several near-term forecasts and trimmed FY2027: Q1 2026 to $1.74 (from $2.00), Q2 2026 to $4.27 (from $4.53), Q3 2026 to $4.22 (from $4.27), Q1 2027 to $1.89 (from $2.07), Q2 2027 to $4.74 (from $4.97) and lowered FY2027 to $13.83 (from $13.95). These downgrades increase near-term earnings risk and likely weigh on the stock today.
• Negative Sentiment: Negative media coverage arguing reasons to avoid WSO could amplify short-term selling pressure from momentum or retail investors. Article Title

Watsco Trading Down 3.7%

Shares of NYSE WSO opened at $379.47 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $392.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $377.04. Watsco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $323.05 and a 1-year high of $521.70. The firm has a market cap of $15.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.33 and a beta of 1.03.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.94 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.87% and a return on equity of 15.49%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.37 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th were issued a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 16th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 99.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WSO. UBS Group initiated coverage on Watsco in a report on Monday, January 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research upgraded Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Mizuho set a $425.00 target price on Watsco in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wolfe Research set a $349.00 target price on Watsco in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Watsco from $460.00 to $370.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $409.00.

About Watsco

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.