Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC Has $44.35 Million Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 5.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 121,904 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,336 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC owned 0.30% of Watsco worth $44,347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WSO. Crown Oak Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Watsco by 1.4% during the first quarter. Crown Oak Advisors LLC now owns 27,097 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $9,858,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,714,000. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC raised its position in shares of Watsco by 16.1% in the 1st quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC now owns 1,878 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $683,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Tred Avon Family Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Watsco by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Tred Avon Family Wealth LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $262,000. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, June 26th. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $385.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $397.71.

Watsco Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of WSO stock opened at $407.27 on Thursday. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $323.05 and a 12 month high of $494.94. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $400.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $389.18. The firm has a market cap of $16.56 billion, a PE ratio of 33.80 and a beta of 1.02.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.14. Watsco had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.93 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 16th will be issued a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 109.54%.

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.