Watsco (NYSE:WSO) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Watsco (NYSE:WSO) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Thursday. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Watsco from $505.00 to $460.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Watsco from $400.00 to $360.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Watsco from $450.00 to $425.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $440.83.

Watsco Price Performance

NYSE WSO opened at $367.16 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $387.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $431.12. Watsco has a fifty-two week low of $350.00 and a fifty-two week high of $571.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.89 billion, a PE ratio of 28.68 and a beta of 0.94.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.60 by ($0.62). The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.04%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.22 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Watsco will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 16th were paid a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 16th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 93.75%.

Institutional Trading of Watsco

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WSO. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watsco in the first quarter worth $25,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Watsco during the second quarter valued at $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its position in Watsco by 115.4% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 56 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its position in Watsco by 2,366.7% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 74 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in Watsco during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

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.