Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $480.83.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WSO shares. Mizuho set a $490.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Watsco from $560.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $455.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. My Legacy Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Watsco by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 687 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC lifted its stake in Watsco by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,196 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $567,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Watsco by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 754 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in Watsco by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,686 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $799,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its stake in Watsco by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 7,692 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,645,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSO opened at $488.06 on Tuesday. Watsco has a one year low of $439.08 and a one year high of $571.42. The company has a 50 day moving average of $489.46 and a 200-day moving average of $497.58. The stock has a market cap of $19.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.83 and a beta of 1.11.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.29 by ($0.36). Watsco had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 7.04%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.17 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Watsco will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th were paid a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. This is a positive change from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.70. Watsco’s payout ratio is presently 92.24%.

About Watsco

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.