Analysts Set WESCO International, Inc. (NYSE:WCC) Price Target at $237.20

WESCO International, Inc. (NYSE:WCC) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $237.20.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WCC shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of WESCO International from $225.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of WESCO International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of WESCO International from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $240.00 target price (up from $230.00) on shares of WESCO International in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Stephens downgraded shares of WESCO International from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $190.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Diane Lazzaris sold 4,260 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.77, for a total transaction of $966,040.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 52,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,999,761.32. This represents a 7.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John Engel sold 51,051 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.17, for a total transaction of $11,546,204.67. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 475,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $107,650,361.07. This trade represents a 9.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 136,131 shares of company stock valued at $30,384,421 over the last three months. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WESCO International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WCC. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of WESCO International by 6,769.8% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 456,290 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $70,862,000 after buying an additional 449,648 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of WESCO International during the second quarter valued at about $75,136,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of WESCO International by 88.2% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 758,786 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $117,839,000 after buying an additional 355,570 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of WESCO International by 56.0% during the second quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 605,918 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $112,216,000 after buying an additional 217,417 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of WESCO International by 21.2% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 309,081 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $48,001,000 after buying an additional 54,046 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.75% of the company’s stock.

WESCO International Stock Performance

Shares of WESCO International stock opened at $220.55 on Friday. WESCO International has a one year low of $125.21 and a one year high of $228.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.27, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.79. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $215.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $191.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

WESCO International (NYSE:WCC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The technology company reported $3.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $5.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.82 billion. WESCO International had a return on equity of 12.96% and a net margin of 2.98%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.21 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that WESCO International will post 13.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WESCO International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th were paid a $0.4538 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. WESCO International’s payout ratio is currently 14.25%.

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).