Brokerages Set Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Target Price at $404.25

Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $404.25.

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

Watsco Price Performance

NYSE WSO opened at $472.06 on Tuesday. Watsco has a one year low of $315.17 and a one year high of $480.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $425.94 and a 200 day moving average of $404.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 2.92. The company has a market capitalization of $18.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.31 and a beta of 0.86.

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

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th were given a dividend of $2.70 per share. This is a positive change from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.08%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Watsco

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. First PREMIER Bank purchased a new position in Watsco in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Watsco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new stake in Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.