Brokerages Set Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Target Price at $402.71

Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the ten brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $402.7143.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, June 26th. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Watsco in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $385.00 target price for the company. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd.

Watsco Trading Down 3.4%

Shares of WSO stock opened at $372.20 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $389.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $392.41. Watsco has a twelve month low of $323.05 and a twelve month high of $494.94. The company has a market capitalization of $15.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.89 and a beta of 1.02.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.14. Watsco had a return on equity of 15.31% and a net margin of 6.85%.The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.93 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Watsco will post 12.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 16th will be issued a $3.30 dividend. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 16th. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 109.54%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Watsco

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSO. Comerica Bank boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 36.3% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 45,756 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $15,417,000 after acquiring an additional 12,190 shares in the last quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. increased its stake in Watsco by 41.5% in the 4th quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. now owns 55,692 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $18,765,000 after purchasing an additional 16,322 shares in the last quarter. Crown Oak Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Watsco by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Crown Oak Advisors LLC now owns 26,721 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $9,004,000 after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its holdings in Watsco by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 470,177 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $159,293,000 after purchasing an additional 113,333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vantage Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in Watsco by 70.0% during the fourth quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 166,172 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $55,992,000 after purchasing an additional 68,442 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

About Watsco

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.