Mizuho Has Lowered Expectations for Watsco (NYSE:WSO) Stock Price

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) had its target price decreased by research analysts at Mizuho from $400.00 to $370.00 in a research note issued on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the construction company’s stock. Mizuho’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 3.53% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on WSO. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Watsco from $505.00 to $460.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Watsco from $425.00 to $390.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $415.57.

Watsco Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:WSO opened at $357.39 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $347.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $392.75. Watsco has a twelve month low of $323.05 and a twelve month high of $535.40. The company has a market cap of $14.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.92 and a beta of 1.03.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The construction company reported $3.98 EPS for the quarter. Watsco had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.04%.The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter. Analysts anticipate that Watsco will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Watsco by 741.4% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,285,895 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $924,187,000 after buying an additional 2,014,233 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Watsco by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,485,996 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $656,036,000 after buying an additional 31,484 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Watsco by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,238,121 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $500,572,000 after purchasing an additional 16,595 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Watsco by 62.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 468,875 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $238,329,000 after acquiring an additional 180,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hamlin Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Watsco by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 405,480 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $163,936,000 after purchasing an additional 47,643 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.