Watsco (NYSE:WSO) Price Target Raised to $550.00 at Robert W. Baird

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) had its price target raised by Robert W. Baird from $522.00 to $550.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the construction company’s stock.

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st.

Watsco Stock Performance

NYSE WSO opened at $494.61 on Wednesday. Watsco has a 52-week low of $338.58 and a 52-week high of $520.41. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $480.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $471.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 3.21. The company has a market capitalization of $19.93 billion, a PE ratio of 38.05 and a beta of 0.88.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by ($0.21). Watsco had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 7.02%. The company had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.42 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Watsco will post 13.83 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 16th will be given a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 16th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.08%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Watsco

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. nVerses Capital LLC boosted its position in Watsco by 58.3% during the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,900 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $935,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Carderock Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Watsco by 16.5% during the third quarter. Carderock Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,987 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $6,388,000 after purchasing an additional 1,840 shares during the period. Baskin Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Watsco by 1.3% during the third quarter. Baskin Financial Services Inc. now owns 67,242 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,075,000 after purchasing an additional 833 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its position in Watsco by 7.7% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 5,212 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,564,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the period. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. boosted its position in Watsco by 5.0% during the third quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 1,568 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $771,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

About Watsco

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.