Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $404.25.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Watsco from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th.

Watsco Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:WSO opened at $463.24 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.92 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $468.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $429.79. Watsco has a fifty-two week low of $337.58 and a fifty-two week high of $493.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.67 billion, a PE ratio of 35.63 and a beta of 0.88.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by ($0.09). Watsco had a net margin of 7.03% and a return on equity of 19.26%. The company had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.83 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Watsco will post 14.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watsco

In other news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 774 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.85, for a total value of $366,759.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $838,714.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 774 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.85, for a total value of $366,759.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $838,714.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John Alexander Macdonald sold 5,334 shares of Watsco stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.41, for a total value of $2,487,830.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 12.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WSO. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Watsco by 4.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,411,894 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,473,836,000 after acquiring an additional 146,305 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its stake in Watsco by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 792,011 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $342,125,000 after purchasing an additional 16,487 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Watsco by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 648,662 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $245,013,000 after buying an additional 16,589 shares in the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. increased its position in Watsco by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 566,250 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $244,603,000 after buying an additional 9,500 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 1.8% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 366,739 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $158,420,000 after buying an additional 6,436 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.