Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Makes New Investment in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 132 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WSO. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 2nd quarter worth about $372,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Watsco in the second quarter worth $10,906,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in Watsco by 6.5% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 560 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Watsco by 11.4% during the second quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 605 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 273.5% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 549 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WSO opened at $476.71 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.67 and a beta of 0.88. Watsco, Inc. has a one year low of $338.58 and a one year high of $520.41. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $478.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $458.65. The company has a current ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by ($0.21). Watsco had a net margin of 7.02% and a return on equity of 18.55%. The business had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.42 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.83 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 16th were given a dividend of $2.70 per share. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WSO. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Watsco from $460.00 to $522.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $433.71.

About Watsco

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.