WESCO International (NYSE:WCC) Upgraded to “Outperform” at Robert W. Baird

Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of WESCO International (NYSE:WCC) from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has $550.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $522.00.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Loop Capital increased their price objective on WESCO International from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on WESCO International from $171.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on WESCO International from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of WESCO International in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered WESCO International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, WESCO International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.86.

WESCO International Trading Up 4.1 %

NYSE:WCC opened at $179.54 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $162.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $166.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.94, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 2.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 2.28. WESCO International has a 1 year low of $122.30 and a 1 year high of $195.43.

WESCO International (NYSE:WCC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The technology company reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.27). The business had revenue of $5.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.55 billion. WESCO International had a return on equity of 14.44% and a net margin of 3.30%. The company’s revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.71 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that WESCO International will post 12.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WESCO International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $0.4125 per share. This represents a $1.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. WESCO International’s payout ratio is currently 12.81%.

Insider Activity at WESCO International

In related news, Director Steven A. Raymund sold 5,819 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.56, for a total transaction of $998,307.64. Following the sale, the director now owns 27,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,632,806.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WESCO International

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in WESCO International by 23,727.4% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,589,048 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $251,896,000 after buying an additional 1,582,379 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC acquired a new stake in WESCO International in the 2nd quarter worth about $52,782,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in WESCO International in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,916,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in WESCO International by 74.8% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 72,897 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,486,000 after buying an additional 31,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hosking Partners LLP boosted its stake in WESCO International by 68.6% in the 1st quarter. Hosking Partners LLP now owns 63,577 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $10,889,000 after buying an additional 25,864 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.76% of the company’s stock.

About WESCO International

WESCO International, Inc provides business-to-business distribution, logistics services, and supply chain solutions in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Electrical & Electronic Solutions (EES), Communications & Security Solutions (CSS), and Utility and Broadband Solutions (UBS).