Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 96,532 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 823 shares during the quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $47,482,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 30.6% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 94 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Watsco by 2.6% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 952 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $468,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 27.8% in the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 115 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 10.2% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 293 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $127,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its stake in Watsco by 100.0% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 58 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th.

Watsco Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of WSO traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $472.65. 28,886 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 287,061. Watsco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $359.59 and a 1-year high of $520.41. The company has a market cap of $19.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.58 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $481.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $474.98.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.73 by ($0.51). The company had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.99% and a return on equity of 17.77%. The business’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.35 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 16th were paid a dividend of $2.70 per share. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.46%.

Watsco 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.