Watsco (NYSE:WSO) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) had its price objective increased by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $370.00 to $405.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the construction company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price points to a potential upside of 4.45% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Watsco in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $385.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $402.71.

Watsco Trading Up 2.7%

Watsco stock traded up $10.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $387.74. 32,827 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 425,319. Watsco has a fifty-two week low of $323.05 and a fifty-two week high of $494.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.13 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $394.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $391.08.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 15.31%. Watsco’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.93 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Watsco will post 12.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Watsco

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 103.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,642,893 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,564,423,000 after buying an additional 2,356,998 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Watsco by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,559,965 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $525,634,000 after acquiring an additional 46,799 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Watsco by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,238,121 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $500,572,000 after acquiring an additional 16,595 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Watsco by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 638,014 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $214,373,000 after acquiring an additional 5,176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in Watsco by 60,779.4% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 599,662 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $202,056,000 after acquiring an additional 598,677 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.