William Blair Comments on Watsco, Inc.’s Q2 2024 Earnings (NYSE:WSO)

Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) – Research analysts at William Blair cut their Q2 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Watsco in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, April 11th. William Blair analyst R. Merkel now expects that the construction company will post earnings of $5.48 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $5.62. The consensus estimate for Watsco’s current full-year earnings is $14.17 per share.

Separately, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Watsco from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $396.00.

Watsco Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of WSO opened at $417.71 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $408.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $397.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 3.36. Watsco has a 52-week low of $309.17 and a 52-week high of $447.49. The company has a market cap of $16.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.58, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.90.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The construction company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($0.44). Watsco had a net margin of 7.36% and a return on equity of 21.36%. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.35 EPS. Watsco’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $2.70 dividend. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This is an increase from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.74%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Watsco

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. increased its holdings in Watsco by 460.1% in the first quarter. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. now owns 2,655 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,146,000 after purchasing an additional 2,181 shares during the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank bought a new stake in Watsco in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Birch Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Watsco by 10.5% in the first quarter. Birch Capital Management LLC now owns 4,052 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,750,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Watsco in the first quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Running Oak Capital LLC grew its stake in Watsco by 11.8% in the first quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 25,915 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $11,195,000 after acquiring an additional 2,737 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

About Watsco

Watsco, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the distribution of air conditioning, heating, refrigeration equipment, and related parts and supplies in the United States and internationally. The company distributes equipment, including residential ducted and ductless air conditioners, such as gas, electric, and oil furnaces; commercial air conditioning and heating equipment systems; and other specialized equipment.