WESCO International, Inc. (NYSE:WCC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

WESCO International, Inc. (NYSE:WCC) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $191.17.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Loop Capital boosted their target price on WESCO International from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of WESCO International from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Baird R W downgraded shares of WESCO International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of WESCO International from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $172.00 target price on shares of WESCO International in a research note on Thursday, June 20th.

WESCO International Price Performance

WCC stock opened at $158.44 on Friday. WESCO International has a 1 year low of $122.30 and a 1 year high of $195.43. The firm has a market cap of $8.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.19, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 2.06. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $172.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $168.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.21.

WESCO International (NYSE:WCC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $5.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.30 billion. WESCO International had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 15.10%. WESCO International’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.75 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that WESCO International will post 14.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WESCO International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.4125 dividend. This represents a $1.65 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. WESCO International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.74%.

Insider Activity at WESCO International

In other news, major shareholder Equity Investors Vii L. Green sold 1,750,000 shares of WESCO International stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.02, for a total transaction of $302,785,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,134,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $369,342,852.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Christine Ann Wolf sold 4,486 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.13, for a total transaction of $852,923.18. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 30,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,761,699.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Equity Investors Vii L. Green sold 1,750,000 shares of WESCO International stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.02, for a total value of $302,785,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 2,134,683 shares in the company, valued at $369,342,852.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,754,960 shares of company stock worth $303,728,784 over the last quarter. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lyrical Asset Management LP raised its position in WESCO International by 2,583.9% during the fourth quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP now owns 765,124 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $133,040,000 after buying an additional 736,616 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in WESCO International during the 4th quarter valued at about $79,404,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of WESCO International by 74.8% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 72,897 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $12,486,000 after purchasing an additional 31,200 shares during the period. Hosking Partners LLP boosted its holdings in shares of WESCO International by 68.6% during the first quarter. Hosking Partners LLP now owns 63,577 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $10,889,000 after purchasing an additional 25,864 shares during the period. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new position in WESCO International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,177,000. 93.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About WESCO International

WESCO International, Inc provides business-to-business distribution, logistics services, and supply chain solutions in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Electrical & Electronic Solutions (EES), Communications & Security Solutions (CSS), and Utility and Broadband Solutions (UBS).