Analysts Set Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Target Price at $396.00

Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the eight ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $396.00.

Separately, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Watsco from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Watsco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $536,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Watsco during the fourth quarter worth $4,070,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Watsco by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 648,662 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $245,013,000 after buying an additional 16,589 shares during the last quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Watsco by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 295,833 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $126,756,000 after acquiring an additional 16,006 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Watsco by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 9,700 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,156,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watsco Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE WSO opened at $401.84 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $408.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $398.05. Watsco has a 12 month low of $314.87 and a 12 month high of $447.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.87 billion, a PE ratio of 29.42 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The construction company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.44). The business had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.36% and a return on equity of 21.36%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.35 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Watsco will post 14.19 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $2.70 per share. This is an increase from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 79.06%.

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.