Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Stock Has Average Price Target of $373.62

Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the ten brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $373.62.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Watsco from $370.00 to $330.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Zacks Research downgraded Watsco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Weiss Ratings lowered Watsco from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a research report on Monday, August 17th.

Watsco Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $294.24 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $307.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $359.98. Watsco has a 12-month low of $277.34 and a 12-month high of $459.00. The stock has a market cap of $12.14 billion, a PE ratio of 25.52 and a beta of 1.06.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.41 by ($0.41). The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.14 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 6.53%. Watsco’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.52 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Watsco will post 12.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Investors of record on Friday, October 16th will be paid a $3.30 dividend. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 114.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Watsco

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Watsco in the third quarter valued at approximately $96,991,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Watsco during the second quarter worth approximately $119,291,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Watsco during the second quarter worth approximately $97,937,000. Findlay Park Partners LLP purchased a new position in Watsco during the second quarter worth approximately $78,695,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new position in Watsco during the second quarter worth approximately $60,024,000. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watsco Company Profile

Watsco, Inc (NYSE: WSO) is a distributor of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) equipment and related products. The company supplies residential and light commercial air-conditioning and heating systems, refrigeration equipment, replacement parts, and other supplies used by contractors and service professionals.

Watsco distributes products from leading HVAC/R manufacturers, including equipment and components such as air conditioners, heat pumps, furnaces, air handlers, thermostats, controls, motors and indoor air-quality products.