DA Davidson Upgrades Watsco (NYSE:WSO) to Hold

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) was upgraded by investment analysts at DA Davidson to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also commented on WSO. Stephens lifted their target price on Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Mizuho set a $425.00 price target on Watsco in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Zacks Research raised shares of Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $397.71.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $389.58 on Tuesday. Watsco has a 1 year low of $323.05 and a 1 year high of $494.94. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $401.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $384.89. The firm has a market cap of $15.84 billion, a PE ratio of 32.33 and a beta of 1.05.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.14. Watsco had a return on equity of 15.31% and a net margin of 6.85%.The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.93 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Watsco will post 12.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Watsco

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WSO. CWM LLC boosted its position in Watsco by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 710 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Watsco by 2.7% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,115 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $406,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Watsco by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,559 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $525,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC lifted its stake in Watsco by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 7,814 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,633,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 5.2% during the second quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 783 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $346,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.