Watsco (NYSE:WSO) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

Watsco (NYSE:WSO – Get Rating) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

WSO has been the topic of several other reports. KeyCorp upgraded Watsco from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $320.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 14th. Zacks Investment Research cut Watsco from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $313.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Watsco from $300.00 to $350.00 in a report on Friday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Watsco from $288.00 to $277.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $316.29.

Shares of WSO stock opened at $266.78 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $289.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $291.98. Watsco has a 12-month low of $252.50 and a 12-month high of $318.98. The firm has a market cap of $10.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.78 and a beta of 0.85.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 21st. The construction company reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $1.10. Watsco had a return on equity of 23.76% and a net margin of 7.16%. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.39 EPS. Watsco’s quarterly revenue was up 34.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Watsco will post 12.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In other news, Director Brian E. Keeley sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.68, for a total transaction of $3,296,480.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 13.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WSO. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. boosted its position in Watsco by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 66,612 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $17,627,000 after buying an additional 2,121 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in Watsco during the fourth quarter worth about $2,259,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Watsco by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 6,805 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,129,000 after buying an additional 1,429 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Watsco by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,657 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,960,000 after buying an additional 2,744 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in Watsco by 2.4% during the third quarter. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 2,641 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $699,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 78.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Watsco (Get Rating)

Watsco, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, distributes air conditioning, heating, refrigeration equipment, and related parts and supplies. The company distributes equipment comprising residential ducted and ductless air conditioners, such as gas, electric, and oil furnaces; commercial air conditioning and heating equipment systems; and other specialized equipment.

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