Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $495.00.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WSO shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Northcoast Research began coverage on Watsco in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Raymond James initiated coverage on Watsco in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watsco

In other Watsco news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.21, for a total value of $5,589,293.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 12.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Watsco

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WSO. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Watsco by 10.6% during 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 during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter worth $118,312,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at $104,533,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter valued at about $63,603,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Watsco by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,371,535 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $649,957,000 after acquiring an additional 118,713 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of WSO stock traded up $0.62 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $499.55. The stock had a trading volume of 154,440 shares, compared to its average volume of 252,399. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.70 and a beta of 0.95. Watsco has a one year low of $387.58 and a one year high of $571.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $484.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $492.99.

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

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 81.51%.

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.