WESCO International (NYSE:WCC) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of WESCO International (NYSE:WCC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Friday morning.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on WCC. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of WESCO International from $215.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of WESCO International from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of WESCO International from $205.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on WESCO International from $186.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Loop Capital raised their target price on WESCO International from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.88.

WESCO International Stock Performance

WESCO International stock opened at $191.73 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $9.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 2.02. WESCO International has a 1-year low of $132.37 and a 1-year high of $216.17. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $194.08 and a 200-day moving average of $176.72.

WESCO International (NYSE:WCC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The technology company reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.36. WESCO International had a return on equity of 13.19% and a net margin of 3.19%. The business had revenue of $5.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.49 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that WESCO International will post 12.3 EPS for the current year.

WESCO International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.4125 per share. This represents a $1.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. WESCO International’s payout ratio is 13.21%.

Insider Transactions at WESCO International

In related news, EVP William Clayton Geary sold 2,829 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.73, for a total value of $582,010.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,063 shares in the company, valued at $7,213,510.99. The trade was a 7.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO David S. Schulz sold 14,938 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.55, for a total value of $3,085,443.90. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 104,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,578,485.05. This represents a 12.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 27,767 shares of company stock valued at $5,567,454. Insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WCC. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of WESCO International during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in WESCO International by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 375 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of WESCO International by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 633 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of WESCO International in the 3rd quarter worth $221,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of WESCO International by 68.0% in the third quarter. Innealta Capital LLC now owns 1,606 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the period. 93.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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).