Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $469.80.

A number of research analysts recently commented on WSO shares. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Watsco from $460.00 to $522.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Watsco

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Watsco in the third quarter worth about $282,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 30.6% during the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 94 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Watsco in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,537,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Watsco during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its position in Watsco by 9.2% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,841 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,243,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watsco Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $484.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 3.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.24 and a beta of 0.88. Watsco has a 52-week low of $338.58 and a 52-week high of $520.41. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $478.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $466.94.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.70 by ($0.21). The company had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.02% and a return on equity of 18.55%. Watsco’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Watsco will post 13.83 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 16th will be paid a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 16th. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.08%.

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.