Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $404.1429.

A number of brokerages recently commented on WSO. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Watsco in a research report on Monday, January 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 target price on the stock. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Watsco from $460.00 to $370.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research cut shares of Watsco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Thursday, October 30th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Watsco

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Watsco by 741.4% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,285,895 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $924,187,000 after acquiring an additional 2,014,233 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 2.2% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,485,996 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $656,036,000 after buying an additional 31,484 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Watsco by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,238,121 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $500,572,000 after purchasing an additional 16,595 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its holdings in Watsco by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 470,177 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $159,293,000 after acquiring an additional 113,333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hamlin Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Watsco by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 405,480 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $163,936,000 after buying an additional 47,643 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watsco Price Performance

NYSE:WSO opened at $381.78 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $349.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $389.44. The company has a market cap of $15.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.83 and a beta of 1.03. Watsco has a 1 year low of $323.05 and a 1 year high of $535.40.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The construction company reported $3.98 earnings per share for the quarter. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 16.48%. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter. On average, analysts expect that Watsco will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be issued a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 16th. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 93.75%.

Watsco Company Profile

Watsco, Inc is the largest distributor of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) equipment, parts and supplies in the United States. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, the company operates a network of more than 600 branches across the continental U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Watsco serves residential and commercial contractors by providing essential components for climate control systems, including air conditioners, furnaces, heat pumps, coils, refrigerants, controls and electrical and piping supplies.

Founded in 1947, Watsco has grown from a single regional distributor into an industry leader through a combination of organic expansion, acquisitions and strategic partnerships with original equipment manufacturers such as Carrier, Trane, Goodman and Lennox.