Robert W. Baird Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Watsco (NYSE:WSO) Stock

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) had its price target hoisted by Robert W. Baird from $540.00 to $560.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the construction company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on WSO. Northcoast Research began coverage on Watsco in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Raymond James started coverage on Watsco in a report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $495.00.

Watsco Trading Down 3.3 %

Watsco stock opened at $498.12 on Wednesday. Watsco has a 12 month low of $380.58 and a 12 month high of $571.41. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $484.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $492.16. The company has a market cap of $20.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.59 and a beta of 0.95.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 7.04%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Watsco will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.51%.

Insider Activity at Watsco

In other Watsco news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of Watsco stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.21, for a total transaction of $5,589,293.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 12.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Watsco

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Watsco by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,624,159 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,782,651,000 after purchasing an additional 346,470 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Watsco by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,618,109 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,714,586,000 after buying an additional 52,127 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Watsco by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,371,535 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $649,957,000 after buying an additional 118,713 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Watsco by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,173,762 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $577,350,000 after buying an additional 65,846 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 725,186 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $343,168,000 after purchasing an additional 20,856 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.