Regents Gate Capital LLP Purchases New Position in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Regents Gate Capital LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 6,430 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,167,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in Watsco by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 632 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $213,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC increased its position in Watsco by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 27,927 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $9,410,000 after acquiring an additional 1,757 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Watsco by 86.3% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,867 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $629,000 after acquiring an additional 865 shares in the last quarter. Inceptionr LLC acquired a new stake in Watsco in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,175,000. Finally, Heartland Advisors Inc. increased its position in Watsco by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 45,151 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $15,214,000 after acquiring an additional 8,321 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSO opened at $384.07 on Friday. Watsco, Inc. has a one year low of $323.05 and a one year high of $494.94. The company has a 50 day moving average of $400.94 and a 200-day moving average of $383.95. The stock has a market cap of $15.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.87 and a beta of 1.04.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.14. Watsco had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.93 EPS. Watsco’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 16th were paid a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 16th. This is an increase from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Watsco’s payout ratio is presently 109.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on WSO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Mizuho set a $425.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $399.83.

Watsco Profile

Watsco, Inc is the largest distributor of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) equipment, parts and supplies in the United States. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, the company operates a network of more than 600 branches across the continental U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Watsco serves residential and commercial contractors by providing essential components for climate control systems, including air conditioners, furnaces, heat pumps, coils, refrigerants, controls and electrical and piping supplies.

Founded in 1947, Watsco has grown from a single regional distributor into an industry leader through a combination of organic expansion, acquisitions and strategic partnerships with original equipment manufacturers such as Carrier, Trane, Goodman and Lennox.