Watsco (NYSE:WSO) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Watsco (NYSE:WSO – Get Rating) in a research note released on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the construction company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group began coverage on Watsco in a research note on Tuesday, January 10th. They issued a neutral rating and a $280.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens raised their target price on Watsco from $300.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Watsco from $323.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, February 17th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on Watsco from $335.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, February 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $313.67.

Watsco Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of WSO stock opened at $295.80 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $294.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $274.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 2.54. Watsco has a twelve month low of $220.68 and a twelve month high of $343.85. The company has a market capitalization of $11.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.20 and a beta of 0.89.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 16th. The construction company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.23. Watsco had a return on equity of 25.17% and a net margin of 8.26%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.02 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Watsco will post 13.82 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 17th were issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 13th. This is a positive change from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.20. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.60%.

Institutional Trading of Watsco

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 31,134 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,765,000 after purchasing an additional 4,259 shares in the last quarter. Trust Investment Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $791,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 55,726 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $13,897,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 148,406 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $37,012,000 after purchasing an additional 5,973 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 7,106 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,772,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.73% of the company’s stock.

About Watsco

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Watsco, Inc engages in the distribution of air conditioning, heating and refrigeration equipment, and related parts and supplies. Its products include residential central air conditioners, gas, electric & oil furnaces, commercial air conditioning and heating equipment, and other specialized equipment and parts, including replacement compressors, evaporator coils, motors and other component parts and supplies, including thermostats, insulation material, refrigerants, ductwork, grills, registers, sheet metal, tools, copper tubing, concrete pads, tape, adhesives, and other ancillary supplies.