Stephens Reaffirms “Overweight” Rating for Watsco (NYSE:WSO)

Watsco (NYSE:WSO)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating restated by equities research analysts at Stephens in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $485.00 target price on the construction company’s stock. Stephens’ target price indicates a potential upside of 55.13% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $395.50.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSO opened at $312.65 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.71 billion, a PE ratio of 27.12 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $369.74 and a 200-day moving average of $388.24. Watsco has a one year low of $300.66 and a one year high of $459.00.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by ($0.41). The company had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 6.53%.The business’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.52 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Watsco will post 12.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Watsco

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WSO. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Bayban bought a new position in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Bamco Inc. NY bought a new position in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Watsco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Watsco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

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.