Watsco (NYSE:WSO) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $385.16, but opened at $371.47. Watsco shares last traded at $365.9390, with a volume of 13,257 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. DA Davidson started coverage on Watsco in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $385.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $402.71.

Watsco Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $387.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $393.17. The stock has a market cap of $15.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.04 and a beta of 1.02.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 15.31% and a net margin of 6.85%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.93 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.81 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 16th will be paid a dividend of $3.30 per share. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 109.54%.

Institutional Trading of Watsco

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,927 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,013,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 95.0% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,297 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $573,000 after buying an additional 632 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 7.6% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 50,442 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $22,275,000 after buying an additional 3,570 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in Watsco by 2.8% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 16,258 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,180,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Watsco by 12.0% in the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 523 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is currently 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.