Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $397.7143.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Watsco in a research note on Monday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $385.00 target price for the company. Mizuho set a $425.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Watsco

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. DV Trading LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watsco in the 1st quarter valued at $218,000. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watsco in the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 239,606 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $87,166,000 after buying an additional 26,003 shares in the last quarter. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watsco in the 1st quarter valued at $14,552,000. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 10,373 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,774,000 after buying an additional 939 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Price Performance

NYSE:WSO opened at $389.58 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $15.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.33 and a beta of 1.05. Watsco has a one year low of $323.05 and a one year high of $494.94. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $401.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $384.89.

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

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 16th were paid a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 16th. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is a positive change from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 109.54%.

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.