Watsco (NYSE:WSO) Sets New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $403.01 and last traded at $415.32, with a volume of 329793 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $410.83.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WSO. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Watsco from $455.00 to $450.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $505.00 price target on Watsco in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Watsco from $445.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Mizuho set a $490.00 target price on Watsco in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Watsco from $560.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $484.17.

Watsco Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $16.82 billion, a PE ratio of 31.85 and a beta of 0.95. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $448.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $473.11.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.84 by ($0.32). Watsco had a return on equity of 16.96% and a net margin of 7.08%. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.49 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 16th were paid a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.02%.

Institutional Trading of Watsco

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 89,376.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 477,802 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $242,867,000 after acquiring an additional 477,268 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter worth $104,533,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Watsco by 62.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 468,875 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $238,329,000 after purchasing an additional 180,951 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in Watsco during the first quarter valued at about $54,536,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Watsco by 542.2% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 110,752 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $52,484,000 after purchasing an additional 93,506 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

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.