Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Stake Boosted by Yousif Capital Management LLC

Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,252 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $6,963,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WSO. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at about $96,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in Watsco by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 445 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $191,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Watsco by 80.5% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 123,040 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $52,719,000 after acquiring an additional 54,866 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in Watsco by 25.8% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 146,458 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $62,753,000 after acquiring an additional 30,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake in Watsco by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 692 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Trading Up 6.5 %

Shares of NYSE WSO opened at $440.60 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $17.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.25 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $410.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $399.13. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $315.17 and a 52 week high of $451.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 3.36.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.26 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.36% and a return on equity of 21.36%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.83 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Watsco from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $404.25.

Watsco 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.