Watsco (NYSE:WSO) Sets New 12-Month High at $442.26

Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $442.26 and last traded at $441.50, with a volume of 66766 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $432.22.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on WSO. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Watsco from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Stephens increased their price target on Watsco from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $396.00.

Watsco Price Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $404.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $394.84. The stock has a market cap of $17.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The construction company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.44). Watsco had a net margin of 7.36% and a return on equity of 21.36%. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.35 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $2.70 dividend. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. This is an increase from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 71.74%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,325,958 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,013,220,000 after purchasing an additional 14,122 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,670,785 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $531,577,000 after purchasing an additional 32,734 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 105,561.2% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,494,050 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $372,616,000 after purchasing an additional 1,492,636 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,310,201 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $476,973,000 after purchasing an additional 9,201 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its stake in Watsco by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,127,943 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $343,617,000 after buying an additional 3,540 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.