Watsco (NYSE:WSO) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.24 EPS

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The construction company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.24, Zacks reports. Watsco had a net margin of 6.99% and a return on equity of 17.77%.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of WSO opened at $530.16 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $484.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $491.61. Watsco has a fifty-two week low of $373.33 and a fifty-two week high of $571.41. The firm has a market cap of $21.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.97 and a beta of 0.95.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a $2.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Watsco’s payout ratio is 83.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $488.33.

Insider Activity at Watsco

In related news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.21, for a total transaction of $5,589,293.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 12.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.