Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Receives $404.25 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $404.25.

WSO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th.

Watsco Stock Performance

WSO stock opened at $463.45 on Wednesday. Watsco has a 1-year low of $337.58 and a 1-year high of $493.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.92, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $468.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $429.52. The firm has a market cap of $18.68 billion, a PE ratio of 35.65 and a beta of 0.88.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.26 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.03% and a return on equity of 19.26%. The business’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.83 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Watsco will post 14.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th were given a $2.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. This is a positive change from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Watsco’s payout ratio is 83.08%.

Insider Activity at Watsco

In related news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 774 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.85, for a total transaction of $366,759.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $838,714.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 774 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.85, for a total transaction of $366,759.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $838,714.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John Alexander Macdonald sold 5,334 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.41, for a total transaction of $2,487,830.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Watsco

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Watsco by 256.3% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,374 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,510,000 after purchasing an additional 2,427 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in Watsco by 225.8% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 38,830 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $16,610,000 after buying an additional 26,911 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its stake in Watsco by 2.3% in the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 34,247 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $14,794,000 after buying an additional 775 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its position in Watsco by 22.9% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 4,603 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,988,000 after acquiring an additional 857 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 209.4% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,379 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,619,000 after acquiring an additional 5,671 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Company Profile

Watsco, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the distribution of air conditioning, heating, refrigeration equipment, and related parts and supplies in the United States and internationally. The company distributes equipment, including residential ducted and ductless air conditioners, such as gas, electric, and oil furnaces; commercial air conditioning and heating equipment systems; and other specialized equipment.