Dudley & Shanley Inc. Increases Position in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Dudley & Shanley Inc. increased its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 41.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,692 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 16,322 shares during the period. Watsco comprises 3.0% of Dudley & Shanley Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Dudley & Shanley Inc. owned 0.14% of Watsco worth $18,765,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Watsco by 741.4% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,285,895 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $924,187,000 after acquiring an additional 2,014,233 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco in the second quarter valued at about $84,826,000. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 12,054.4% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 173,078 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $69,975,000 after purchasing an additional 171,654 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Watsco by 106.4% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 296,170 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $130,801,000 after purchasing an additional 152,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vantage Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Watsco by 257.5% in the third quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 97,730 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $39,512,000 after purchasing an additional 70,394 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WSO. Wolfe Research set a $349.00 price objective on Watsco in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Watsco from $460.00 to $370.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Watsco in a research report on Monday, January 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $409.00.

Watsco Stock Up 3.4%

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $385.75 on Tuesday. Watsco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $323.05 and a fifty-two week high of $521.70. The business’s fifty day moving average is $395.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $375.37. The firm has a market cap of $15.66 billion, a PE ratio of 31.85 and a beta of 1.03.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.37 EPS. Watsco’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th were issued a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 16th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Watsco’s payout ratio is 99.09%.

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.