Brokerages Set Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) PT at $472.50

Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $472.50.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group reduced their price target on Watsco from $450.00 to $425.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Watsco from $505.00 to $460.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Watsco

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WSO. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Watsco by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,605 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $821,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Watsco by 76.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 940 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $478,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Watsco by 133.1% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 844 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $429,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Watsco by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 1,491 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $758,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Watsco by 11.4% during the 1st quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 900 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $458,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $366.64 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $403.95 and a 200 day moving average of $444.29. Watsco has a 12 month low of $366.30 and a 12 month high of $571.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.12 and a beta of 0.94.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.84 by ($0.32). The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.08% and a return on equity of 16.96%. The business’s revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.49 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Watsco will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 16th will be given a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 16th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 92.02%.

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.