WESCO International (NYSE:WCC) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of WESCO International (NYSE:WCC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of WESCO International from $186.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Stephens increased their price objective on WESCO International from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on WESCO International from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Loop Capital upped their target price on WESCO International from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on WESCO International from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.88.

WESCO International Stock Performance

Shares of WCC stock opened at $178.44 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 2.02. WESCO International has a 1-year low of $132.37 and a 1-year high of $216.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $195.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $175.74.

WESCO International (NYSE:WCC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The technology company reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $5.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.46 billion. WESCO International had a return on equity of 13.19% and a net margin of 3.19%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.49 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that WESCO International will post 12.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WESCO International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.4125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. WESCO International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Nelson John Squires III sold 10,000 shares of WESCO International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $1,900,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 54,621 shares in the company, valued at $10,377,990. The trade was a 15.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO David S. Schulz sold 14,938 shares of WESCO International stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.55, for a total transaction of $3,085,443.90. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 104,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,578,485.05. This represents a 12.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,767 shares of company stock worth $5,567,454 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WESCO International

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WCC. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in WESCO International by 23,727.4% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,589,048 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $251,896,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582,379 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in WESCO International by 3.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 762,653 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $128,143,000 after acquiring an additional 22,080 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of WESCO International in the second quarter worth about $52,782,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC raised its position in shares of WESCO International by 341.8% during the third quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 258,486 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $43,420,000 after purchasing an additional 199,975 shares during the period. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of WESCO International by 1.5% during the third quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 194,979 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,753,000 after purchasing an additional 2,923 shares during the period. 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).