EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 73.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,101 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 3,046 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WSO. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Watsco by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,927 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,013,000 after buying an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Watsco by 78.3% in the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 601 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its stake in Watsco by 75.8% during the second quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 983 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $434,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in Watsco by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 5,286 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,334,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its stake in Watsco by 97.5% in the 2nd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 9,519 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,204,000 after purchasing an additional 4,700 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WSO shares. Wolfe Research set a $349.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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 upgraded Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho set a $425.00 price objective on Watsco in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Watsco from $460.00 to $370.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $409.00.

Watsco Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $417.46 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $384.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $378.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.93 billion, a PE ratio of 34.47 and a beta of 1.04. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $323.05 and a 12 month high of $533.07.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.94 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 15.49% and a net margin of 6.87%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.37 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, January 16th were given a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.09%.

Watsco 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.