Watsco (NYSE:WSO) Coverage Initiated at Morgan Stanley

Stock analysts at Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Watsco (NYSE:WSO) in a research report issued on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage set an “equal weight” rating and a $515.00 price target on the construction company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 0.85% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Raymond James began coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $492.00.

Watsco Price Performance

Watsco stock opened at $510.65 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.54 and a beta of 1.00. Watsco has a one year low of $396.82 and a one year high of $571.42. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $498.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $499.13.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 7.04%. Sell-side analysts expect that Watsco will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Watsco

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. My Legacy Advisors LLC increased its stake in Watsco by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 687 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $329,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its position in shares of Watsco by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,196 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $567,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 754 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in Watsco by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,686 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $799,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its stake in Watsco by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 7,692 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,645,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. 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.