Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $404.1429.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WSO shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Watsco from $460.00 to $370.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Zacks Research cut Watsco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Watsco from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday.

Watsco Stock Performance

WSO stock opened at $381.78 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $349.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $389.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.83 and a beta of 1.03. Watsco has a fifty-two week low of $323.05 and a fifty-two week high of $535.40.

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

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, January 16th will be issued a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 16th. Watsco’s payout ratio is presently 93.75%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Watsco

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WSO. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Watsco by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,927 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,013,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the period. Swedbank AB grew its position in Watsco by 3.8% in the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 78,585 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $34,705,000 after purchasing an additional 2,854 shares in the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. boosted its position in Watsco by 5.7% during the second quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 13,000 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,741,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 1.4% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,993 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,314,000 after buying an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 6,999 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,091,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watsco Company 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.