Watsco (NYSE:WSO) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $546.27 and last traded at $545.95, with a volume of 69586 shares. The stock had previously closed at $533.40.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on WSO. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $491.25.

Watsco Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $22.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.86 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $499.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $485.04.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.73 by ($0.51). The company had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.77% and a net margin of 6.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.35 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 16th were given a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 16th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. Watsco’s payout ratio is presently 83.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Watsco

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Watsco by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,624,159 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,782,651,000 after acquiring an additional 346,470 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Watsco by 48,984.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 233,643 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $114,924,000 after purchasing an additional 233,167 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco during the first quarter worth $90,714,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in Watsco by 2,128.1% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 107,463 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $52,880,000 after purchasing an additional 102,640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in Watsco by 5.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,173,762 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $577,350,000 after purchasing an additional 65,846 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.