Watsco (NYSE:WSO) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $298.01 and last traded at $299.8580, with a volume of 113426 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $310.80.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on WSO. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a research note on Monday, August 17th. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $395.50.

Watsco Trading Down 4.1%

The company’s fifty day moving average is $361.71 and its 200-day moving average is $385.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.84 and a beta of 1.05.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.41 by ($0.41). The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 last year, the business earned $4.52 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.21 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 16th were given a $3.30 dividend. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 114.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Watsco

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in Watsco by 35,175.5% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 19,402,949 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $8,085,791,000 after buying an additional 19,347,945 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Watsco by 103.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,642,893 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,564,423,000 after acquiring an additional 2,356,998 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,559,965 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $525,634,000 after acquiring an additional 46,799 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,238,121 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $500,572,000 after acquiring an additional 16,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Watsco by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 638,014 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $214,373,000 after acquiring an additional 5,176 shares during the period. 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.