WillScot (NASDAQ:WSC) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of WillScot (NASDAQ:WSC) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on WSC. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of WillScot in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of WillScot from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 price target (up from $22.00) on shares of WillScot in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on WillScot from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of WillScot from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.38.

WillScot Stock Up 1.4%

NASDAQ WSC opened at $22.17 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.15, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $4.03 billion, a PE ratio of -73.90, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.12. WillScot has a twelve month low of $14.91 and a twelve month high of $34.31.

WillScot (NASDAQ:WSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $565.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $545.34 million. WillScot had a positive return on equity of 20.42% and a negative net margin of 2.32%.WillScot’s revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.48 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that WillScot will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

WillScot Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. WillScot’s payout ratio is currently -93.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WillScot

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its stake in WillScot by 117.3% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of WillScot by 37.7% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,071 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 567 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of WillScot by 149.9% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in WillScot in the third quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in WillScot by 160.4% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 1,824 shares during the period. 95.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About WillScot

WillScot (NASDAQ: WSC) is a leading North American provider of modular space and portable storage solutions. The company designs, manufactures, leases and sells temporary and permanent modular buildings to serve sectors such as education, healthcare, construction, industrial and government. Its modular space offerings range from single‐unit office trailers and classrooms to complex multi‐unit configurations tailored to diverse project requirements.

In addition to modular structures, WillScot offers a broad portfolio of portable storage containers and related services, including site logistics, customization, delivery and installation.