JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Watsco (NYSE:WSO) Price Target to $400.00

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) had its target price increased by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $370.00 to $400.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the construction company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price indicates a potential downside of 2.49% from the company’s previous close.

WSO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Watsco from $460.00 to $370.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Mizuho set a $425.00 price objective on Watsco in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Research lowered shares of Watsco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $416.29.

Watsco Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:WSO opened at $410.23 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $378.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $378.81. Watsco has a twelve month low of $323.05 and a twelve month high of $533.07. The company has a market capitalization of $16.64 billion, a PE ratio of 33.88 and a beta of 1.04.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by ($0.26). Watsco had a net margin of 6.87% and a return on equity of 15.49%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.37 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Watsco will post 14.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its holdings in Watsco by 242.9% in the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 72 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its stake in Watsco by 2,366.7% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 74 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Watsco in the second quarter valued at $34,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Watsco in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Watsco in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Watsco

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.