Watsco, Inc. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $2.70 (NYSE:WSO)

Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 2nd,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a dividend of 2.70 per share by the construction company on Friday, January 31st. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th.

Watsco has increased its dividend by an average of 12.3% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 11 consecutive years. Watsco has a dividend payout ratio of 74.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Watsco to earn $14.51 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $10.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 74.4%.

Watsco Trading Up 1.5 %

WSO opened at $475.74 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $511.51 and a 200 day moving average of $492.23. Watsco has a 12 month low of $373.33 and a 12 month high of $571.41. The company has a market cap of $19.21 billion, a PE ratio of 36.77 and a beta of 0.95.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Watsco news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of Watsco stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.21, for a total value of $5,589,293.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 12.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Northcoast Research started coverage on Watsco in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating for the company.

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.