Zacks Research Comments on Watsco, Inc.’s Q3 2024 Earnings (NYSE:WSO)

Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q3 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Watsco in a research note issued on Monday, April 15th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the construction company will earn $4.80 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $4.69. The consensus estimate for Watsco’s current full-year earnings is $14.19 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Watsco’s FY2024 earnings at $14.08 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $4.86 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $5.00 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $16.13 EPS.

Separately, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Watsco from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $396.00.

Watsco Stock Down 0.5 %

WSO opened at $401.84 on Wednesday. Watsco has a 1-year low of $314.87 and a 1-year high of $447.49. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $408.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $398.05. The company has a current ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market cap of $15.87 billion, a PE ratio of 29.42 and a beta of 0.90.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The construction company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.44). Watsco had a net margin of 7.36% and a return on equity of 21.36%. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.35 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Trading of Watsco

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at about $536,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,070,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 2.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 648,662 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $245,013,000 after purchasing an additional 16,589 shares in the last quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 295,833 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $126,756,000 after purchasing an additional 16,006 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 9,700 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,156,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a $2.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. This is a boost from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.06%.

Watsco Company 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.