Brokerages Set Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Price Target at $373.78

Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $373.78.

WSO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Watsco from $340.00 to $402.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Watsco from $326.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 22nd. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Monday, July 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $360.00 price target on the stock. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Watsco from $335.00 to $350.00 in a report on Monday, September 18th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company.

Watsco Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE WSO opened at $390.23 on Tuesday. Watsco has a twelve month low of $243.38 and a twelve month high of $406.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 3.08. The stock has a market cap of $15.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.76, a PEG ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $368.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $359.97.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 19th. The construction company reported $4.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.28 by $0.07. Watsco had a net margin of 8.14% and a return on equity of 22.66%. The business had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.03 EPS. Watsco’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Watsco will post 14.12 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 17th were given a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 64.69%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Watsco by 192.0% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 54,613 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $17,376,000 after acquiring an additional 35,908 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Watsco by 7.5% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 136,642 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $43,474,000 after buying an additional 9,566 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its position in shares of Watsco by 0.9% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 3,304 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,260,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Watsco by 27.7% during the first quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 318 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Monument Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Watsco during the second quarter valued at about $2,721,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.49% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Company Profile

Watsco, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the distribution of air conditioning, heating, refrigeration equipment, and related parts and supplies. 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.