Brokerages Set Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Price Target at $396.00

Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $396.00.

Separately, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Watsco from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th.

Institutional Trading of Watsco

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Watsco during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. First PREMIER Bank purchased a new stake in Watsco during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Watsco during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new stake in Watsco during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Watsco during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE WSO opened at $413.33 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.33 billion, a PE ratio of 30.26 and a beta of 0.89. Watsco has a 12-month low of $310.20 and a 12-month high of $447.49. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $409.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $397.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.35 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Watsco will post 14.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $2.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. This is an increase from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.06%.

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.