Analysts Set WESCO International, Inc. (NYSE:WCC) Target Price at $191.17

WESCO International, Inc. (NYSE:WCC) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $191.17.

A number of research firms have recently commented on WCC. Baird R W downgraded WESCO International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of WESCO International from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of WESCO International from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WESCO International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price target on WESCO International from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th.

WESCO International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WCC opened at $155.15 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $172.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $168.32. WESCO International has a 52 week low of $122.30 and a 52 week high of $195.43. The stock has a market cap of $7.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.92, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 2.06.

WESCO International (NYSE:WCC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by ($0.13). WESCO International had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 3.08%. The company had revenue of $5.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.30 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.75 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that WESCO International will post 14.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WESCO International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $0.4125 per share. This represents a $1.65 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. WESCO International’s payout ratio is currently 13.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Equity Investors Vii L. Green sold 1,750,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.02, for a total value of $302,785,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,134,683 shares in the company, valued at $369,342,852.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Matthew S. Kulasa sold 474 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.69, for a total transaction of $90,861.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $681,457.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Equity Investors Vii L. Green sold 1,750,000 shares of WESCO International stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.02, for a total transaction of $302,785,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,134,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $369,342,852.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,754,960 shares of company stock valued at $303,728,784 over the last 90 days. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of WESCO International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WCC. Lyrical Asset Management LP increased its stake in shares of WESCO International by 2,583.9% during the 4th quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP now owns 765,124 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $133,040,000 after purchasing an additional 736,616 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in WESCO International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $79,404,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its holdings in WESCO International by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 190,759 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,169,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of WESCO International by 74.8% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 72,897 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $12,486,000 after purchasing an additional 31,200 shares during the period. Finally, Hosking Partners LLP lifted its stake in shares of WESCO International by 68.6% in the first quarter. Hosking Partners LLP now owns 63,577 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $10,889,000 after buying an additional 25,864 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.76% of the company’s stock.

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).