Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Shareholders to Collect $3.30 Quarterly Dividend

Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 16th will be given a dividend of $3.30 per share by the construction company on Friday, October 30th. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 16th.

Watsco has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 13 years. Watsco has a payout ratio of 85.3% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings fall. Equities analysts expect Watsco to earn $13.28 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $13.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 99.4%.

Watsco Trading Down 0.4%

Watsco stock traded down $1.33 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $301.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 354,438 shares, compared to its average volume of 450,700. The stock has a market cap of $12.43 billion, a PE ratio of 26.14 and a beta of 1.05. Watsco has a 52 week low of $295.75 and a 52 week high of $459.00. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $318.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $366.98.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by ($0.41). The company had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.53% and a return on equity of 14.40%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.52 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Watsco will post 12.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research cut Watsco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a report on Monday, August 17th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $395.50.

Watsco Company Profile

Watsco, Inc (NYSE: WSO) is a distributor of heating, air conditioning and refrigeration equipment and related products. The company supplies residential and commercial contractors with air conditioners, heat pumps, furnaces, refrigeration systems, indoor air-quality products, controls, replacement parts and other installation supplies.

Watsco serves the replacement and new-construction markets through a network of distribution centers, branches, showrooms and e-commerce platforms. Its customers primarily include HVAC and refrigeration contractors, dealers and other industry professionals, while its products are sourced from major manufacturers and distributed under leading industry brands.

Founded in 1956, Watsco has expanded through organic growth and acquisitions to become one of the largest HVAC and refrigeration distributors in North America.