Triad Investment Management Acquires New Holdings in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Triad Investment Management bought a new position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 2,445 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $824,000. Watsco makes up 0.8% of Triad Investment Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 2,366.7% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 74 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watsco in the third quarter worth $37,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 4,700.0% in the second quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 96 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new stake in Watsco in the third quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in Watsco in the third quarter valued at $51,000. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on WSO shares. Zacks Research raised Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. UBS Group began coverage on Watsco in a research note on Monday, January 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Watsco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $409.00.

Watsco Stock Up 3.3%

Shares of NYSE WSO opened at $375.76 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.26 billion, a PE ratio of 31.03 and a beta of 1.06. Watsco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $323.05 and a twelve month high of $521.09. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $393.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $373.62.

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

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, January 16th were given a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 16th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 99.09%.

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.