Retirement Systems of Alabama Grows Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 1.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 50,595 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 960 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Watsco were worth $23,438,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 58 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank purchased a new position in shares of Watsco during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watsco in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 80 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WSO shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Watsco from $460.00 to $522.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $433.71.

Watsco Price Performance

NYSE:WSO traded up $7.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $485.70. 186,216 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 253,426. Watsco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $338.58 and a 52-week high of $520.41. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $481.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $450.10. The company has a current ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market cap of $19.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.36 and a beta of 0.88.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.70 by ($0.21). Watsco had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 7.02%. The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.42 earnings per share. Watsco’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 16th were paid a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 16th. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.08%.

Watsco 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.