William Blair Issues Negative Outlook for Watsco Earnings

Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) – Research analysts at William Blair cut their Q3 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Watsco in a research note issued on Monday, July 14th. William Blair analyst R. Merkel now expects that the construction company will post earnings of $5.05 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $5.07. The consensus estimate for Watsco’s current full-year earnings is $14.62 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Watsco’s Q1 2026 earnings at $2.09 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $5.34 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $2.97 EPS.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.29 by ($0.36). Watsco had a return on equity of 17.13% and a net margin of 6.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.17 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Mizuho set a $490.00 target price on Watsco in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Watsco from $455.00 to $450.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Watsco from $445.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Watsco from $560.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $484.17.

Watsco Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of WSO stock opened at $472.18 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $453.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $476.79. Watsco has a twelve month low of $418.31 and a twelve month high of $571.42. The company has a market capitalization of $19.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.29 and a beta of 1.04.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Watsco by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,618,109 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,714,586,000 after acquiring an additional 52,127 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Watsco by 0.5% in the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,557,610 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $791,734,000 after purchasing an additional 7,760 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Watsco by 6.0% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,454,512 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $739,088,000 after purchasing an additional 82,977 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL grew its holdings in Watsco by 5.7% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 814,712 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $414,118,000 after purchasing an additional 43,776 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Watsco by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 725,186 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $343,168,000 after purchasing an additional 20,856 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 16th will be issued a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.24%.

Watsco Company Profile

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.