Q1 2024 Earnings Estimate for Watsco, Inc. Issued By William Blair (NYSE:WSO)

Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) – Equities researchers at William Blair cut their Q1 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Watsco in a report released on Thursday, April 11th. William Blair analyst R. Merkel now anticipates that the construction company will post earnings of $2.40 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $2.46. The consensus estimate for Watsco’s current full-year earnings is $14.17 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Watsco’s FY2024 earnings at $15.40 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $18.69 EPS.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The construction company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($0.44). Watsco had a return on equity of 21.36% and a net margin of 7.36%. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.35 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Separately, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Watsco from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Watsco presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $396.00.

Watsco Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $417.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 3.36 and a quick ratio of 1.47. Watsco has a 1 year low of $309.17 and a 1 year high of $447.49. The company has a market capitalization of $16.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $408.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $397.37.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $2.70 per share. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 71.74%.

Institutional Trading of Watsco

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Watsco during the 4th quarter worth $536,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Watsco by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 648,662 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $245,013,000 after purchasing an additional 16,589 shares during the period. Hamlin Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Watsco by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 295,833 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $126,756,000 after purchasing an additional 16,006 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in Watsco by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,342 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,265,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Watsco by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 120,564 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $46,137,000 after purchasing an additional 2,295 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is currently 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.