Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Receives $404.25 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $410.57.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WSO shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Watsco from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a research note on Thursday, April 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watsco

In other news, Director John Alexander Macdonald sold 5,334 shares of Watsco stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.41, for a total transaction of $2,487,830.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 774 shares of Watsco stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.85, for a total transaction of $366,759.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $838,714.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John Alexander Macdonald sold 5,334 shares of Watsco stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.41, for a total value of $2,487,830.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Watsco

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SlateStone Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Watsco by 6.8% during the second quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 1,925 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $892,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Watsco by 1.6% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 393,032 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $182,068,000 after purchasing an additional 6,320 shares in the last quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Watsco by 13.5% during the second quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 386 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in Watsco by 8.9% during the second quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 61,000 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,258,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC raised its holdings in Watsco by 3,068.8% during the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 507 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $490.64 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $481.00 and a 200-day moving average of $438.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.92 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The company has a market capitalization of $19.77 billion, a PE ratio of 37.74 and a beta of 0.88. Watsco has a 1-year low of $337.58 and a 1-year high of $520.41.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.26 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.03% and a return on equity of 19.26%. The firm’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Watsco will post 14.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 16th will be paid a $2.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 16th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 83.08%.

Watsco Company Profile

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.