Hamlin Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Hamlin Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 1.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 357,837 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,566 shares during the quarter. Watsco makes up about 3.7% of Hamlin Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Hamlin Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $158,028,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Watsco in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its stake in Watsco by 115.4% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 56 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Watsco in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new stake in Watsco in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new stake in Watsco in the first quarter valued at about $45,000. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Watsco from $425.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group decreased their price target on Watsco from $450.00 to $425.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Watsco from $505.00 to $460.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on Watsco from $525.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $447.50.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of WSO stock opened at $371.41 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $398.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $440.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.06 billion, a PE ratio of 28.48 and a beta of 0.94. Watsco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $350.00 and a fifty-two week high of $571.41.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.84 by ($0.32). The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.08% and a return on equity of 16.96%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.49 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 16th will be issued a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.02%.

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.