Parkside Financial Bank & Trust Grows Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 445 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust’s holdings in Watsco were worth $191,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Watsco by 53.1% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 75 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Trading Up 6.5 %

Shares of NYSE WSO opened at $440.60 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $410.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $399.13. The firm has a market cap of $17.40 billion, a PE ratio of 32.25 and a beta of 0.90. Watsco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $315.17 and a twelve month high of $451.29.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The construction company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.44). The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.36% and a return on equity of 21.36%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.35 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This is a positive change from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. Watsco’s payout ratio is 79.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Watsco from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Watsco has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $404.25.

Watsco Company Profile

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