Loop Capital Issues Positive Forecast for Watsco (NYSE:WSO) Stock Price

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) had its target price raised by equities researchers at Loop Capital from $450.00 to $460.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the construction company’s stock. Loop Capital’s target price would indicate a potential downside of 8.69% from the company’s previous close.

WSO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Raymond James assumed coverage on Watsco in a report on Friday, January 17th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Watsco in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $486.25.

Watsco Price Performance

NYSE WSO opened at $503.80 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $20.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.02 and a beta of 0.95. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $485.23 and its 200-day moving average is $493.29. Watsco has a one year low of $388.47 and a one year high of $571.41.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 7.04%. Equities analysts anticipate that Watsco will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Watsco news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.21, for a total value of $5,589,293.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 12.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WSO. Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its stake in Watsco by 19.5% in the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 644 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in Watsco by 16.1% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 4,037 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,985,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc grew its stake in Watsco by 1.2% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 14,996 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,378,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its stake in Watsco by 8.0% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 1,888 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $929,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HM Payson & Co. grew its stake in Watsco by 83.0% in the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 410 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.