Watsco (NYSE:WSO) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) released its earnings results on Friday. The construction company reported $3.98 EPS for the quarter, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter. Watsco had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.04%.

Watsco Trading Up 0.2%

WSO opened at $351.96 on Friday. Watsco has a 12 month low of $344.52 and a 12 month high of $571.41. The company has a market cap of $14.27 billion, a PE ratio of 27.50 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50 day moving average of $382.83 and a 200 day moving average of $425.43.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 16th were paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 93.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Watsco

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WSO. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Watsco during the 1st quarter worth about $266,000. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of Watsco by 129.3% during the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 7,722 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,925,000 after buying an additional 4,355 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Watsco by 2.3% during the first quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $537,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 17.6% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 320 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $163,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 1.2% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 8,683 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,414,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WSO shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Watsco from $525.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 17th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Watsco from $425.00 to $390.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Zacks Research downgraded Watsco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Watsco from $505.00 to $460.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Watsco currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $435.00.

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.