Centaurus Financial Inc. Grows Holdings in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 8,996 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 1,899 shares during the quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $3,637,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WSO. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Watsco by 741.4% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,285,895 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $924,187,000 after purchasing an additional 2,014,233 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 2.2% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,485,996 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $656,036,000 after purchasing an additional 31,484 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted 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 worth $500,572,000 after purchasing an additional 16,595 shares in the last quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Watsco by 13.3% in 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. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 390,480 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $157,871,000 after buying an additional 1,376 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watsco Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE WSO opened at $377.32 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $15.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.16 and a beta of 1.03. Watsco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $323.05 and a twelve month high of $521.70. The company has a 50 day moving average of $395.19 and a 200 day moving average of $375.88.

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

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, January 16th were given a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 16th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WSO. UBS Group began coverage on Watsco in a research note on Monday, January 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Watsco from $460.00 to $370.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $349.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $409.00.

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.