Barclays PLC Trims Position in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Barclays PLC cut its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 71.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,665 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 139,459 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned about 0.14% of Watsco worth $22,505,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hilltop National Bank increased its position in Watsco by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 454 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $184,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,700 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,076,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 6.0% during the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 601 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 1.8% during the second quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 2,011 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $888,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Applied Capital LLC FL increased its holdings in Watsco by 0.5% during the third quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL now owns 6,993 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,827,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watsco Trading Down 1.4%

Watsco stock opened at $374.03 on Thursday. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $323.05 and a 12-month high of $521.70. The stock has a market cap of $15.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.89 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $392.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $377.01.

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). The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.87% and a return on equity of 15.49%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.37 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, January 16th were given a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 16th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Mizuho set a $425.00 price objective on Watsco in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Watsco from $460.00 to $370.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Wolfe Research set a $349.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $409.00.

Watsco News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Watsco this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Short interest fell meaningfully in February (shares short down ~12.4% to ~3.08M, ~8.7% of float, short-interest ratio ~7.8 days), reducing a portion of the downside squeeze risk and signaling some bearish positions being covered.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised a few quarterly estimates — notably Q3 2027 to $4.77 (from $4.64) and Q4 2027 to $2.42 (from $2.27) — suggesting pockets of stronger expected demand in later 2027 that could support forward valuation if trends persist.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks published a FY2028 estimate of $15.63/share and maintained a “Hold” rating; the shop’s revisions are mixed overall, so this is more informational than a directional endorsement by itself.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple near-term cuts from Zacks: Q1 2026 trimmed to $1.74 (from $2.00), Q2 2026 to $4.27 (from $4.53), Q3 2026 to $4.22 (from $4.27), Q1 2027 to $1.89 (from $2.07) and Q2 2027 to $4.74 (from $4.97); FY2027 was nudged down to $13.83 (from $13.95). These downgrades to near-term earnings expectations are likely the primary reason for intraday weakness.
• Negative Sentiment: Negative press/analysis may amplify selling pressure — e.g., a recent MSN piece arguing to avoid WSO and recommending an alternative. 3 reasons to avoid WSO and 1 stock to buy instead

Watsco 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.