Cibc World Market Inc. Takes Position in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Cibc World Market Inc. bought a new position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 23,700 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,877,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Watsco by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,927 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,013,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 95.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,297 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $573,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 7.6% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 50,442 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $22,275,000 after purchasing an additional 3,570 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in Watsco by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 16,258 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,180,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 12.0% during the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 523 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on WSO. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $395.50.

Watsco Trading Down 0.4%

WSO stock opened at $310.64 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $12.81 billion, a PE ratio of 26.94 and a beta of 1.05. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $300.66 and a 1 year high of $459.00. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $361.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $385.15.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.41 by ($0.41). Watsco had a net margin of 6.53% and a return on equity of 14.40%. The company had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.52 earnings per share. Watsco’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 16th were issued a dividend of $3.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 114.48%.

Watsco Profile

Watsco, Inc is the largest distributor of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) equipment, parts and supplies in the United States. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, the company operates a network of more than 600 branches across the continental U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Watsco serves residential and commercial contractors by providing essential components for climate control systems, including air conditioners, furnaces, heat pumps, coils, refrigerants, controls and electrical and piping supplies.

Founded in 1947, Watsco has grown from a single regional distributor into an industry leader through a combination of organic expansion, acquisitions and strategic partnerships with original equipment manufacturers such as Carrier, Trane, Goodman and Lennox.