Brokerages Set Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) PT at $404.25

Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $404.25.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Watsco from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th.

Watsco Price Performance

NYSE WSO opened at $463.45 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $468.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $429.52. Watsco has a 52 week low of $337.58 and a 52 week high of $493.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.65 and a beta of 0.88.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by ($0.09). Watsco had a net margin of 7.03% and a return on equity of 19.26%. The business had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.83 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Watsco will post 14.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th were issued a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This is a boost from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.08%.

Insider Activity

In other Watsco news, Director John Alexander Macdonald sold 5,334 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.41, for a total value of $2,487,830.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 774 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.85, for a total transaction of $366,759.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,770 shares in the company, valued at $838,714.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John Alexander Macdonald sold 5,334 shares of Watsco stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.41, for a total value of $2,487,830.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 12.86% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Watsco

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSO. EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 58 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. First PREMIER Bank purchased a new position in Watsco in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Watsco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new stake in Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 89.71% of the stock is 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.