Watsco (NYSE:WSO) Price Target Raised to $400.00

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) had its price target upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $370.00 to $400.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the construction company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target would suggest a potential downside of 3.76% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on WSO. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Zacks Research cut Watsco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Mizuho set a $425.00 price objective on Watsco in a research note on Wednesday. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Watsco from $460.00 to $370.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $416.29.

Watsco Stock Performance

NYSE WSO traded down $3.71 on Thursday, hitting $415.61. 62,458 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 439,290. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.32 and a beta of 1.04. Watsco has a 12 month low of $323.05 and a 12 month high of $533.07. The business’s fifty day moving average is $375.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $378.71.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.87% and a return on equity of 15.49%. The company’s revenue was down 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.37 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Watsco will post 14.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Watsco

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSO. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 4.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,927 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,013,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Watsco by 18.1% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 398 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $176,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its holdings in Watsco by 98.8% in the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 795 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $351,000 after buying an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in Watsco by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 9,848 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,349,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its stake in Watsco by 194.6% during the 2nd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 2,669 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,179,000 after acquiring an additional 1,763 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watsco Company 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.