Corton Capital Inc. Takes Position in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Corton Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 503 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $222,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Watsco during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Watsco by 115.4% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 56 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watsco during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watsco during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Watsco during the first quarter worth approximately $45,000. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WSO. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Watsco from $450.00 to $425.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Watsco from $505.00 to $460.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research downgraded Watsco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on Watsco from $525.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $440.83.

Watsco Price Performance

WSO opened at $361.17 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.22 and a beta of 0.94. Watsco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $350.00 and a 1-year high of $571.41. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $386.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $429.06.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $3.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.60 by ($0.62). The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.04%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.22 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 16th were given a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 93.75%.

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.