WillScot (NASDAQ:WSC) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of WillScot (NASDAQ:WSC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Monday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on WSC. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 price target (up from $22.00) on shares of WillScot in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of WillScot from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of WillScot from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $21.00 price target (down from $37.00) on shares of WillScot in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of WillScot in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.38.

WillScot Stock Down 7.8%

WSC stock opened at $21.87 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.15, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.32. WillScot has a 12 month low of $14.91 and a 12 month high of $34.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a PE ratio of -72.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.12.

WillScot (NASDAQ:WSC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.04). WillScot had a negative net margin of 2.32% and a positive return on equity of 20.42%. The company had revenue of $565.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $545.34 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.48 EPS. WillScot’s quarterly revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that WillScot will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WillScot Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be paid a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. WillScot’s payout ratio is currently -93.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Xponance LLC raised its stake in shares of WillScot by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 14,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 478 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of WillScot by 22.9% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of WillScot by 37.7% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,071 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 567 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its position in WillScot by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 41,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $783,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in WillScot by 45.1% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 662 shares during the period. 95.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WillScot Company Profile

WillScot (NASDAQ: WSC) is a leading North American provider of modular space and portable storage solutions. The company designs, manufactures, leases and sells temporary and permanent modular buildings to serve sectors such as education, healthcare, construction, industrial and government. Its modular space offerings range from single‐unit office trailers and classrooms to complex multi‐unit configurations tailored to diverse project requirements.

In addition to modular structures, WillScot offers a broad portfolio of portable storage containers and related services, including site logistics, customization, delivery and installation.