Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the ten analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $404.1429.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WSO. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Watsco in a research note on Monday, January 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on Watsco from $400.00 to $370.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 5th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WSO. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Watsco by 86.3% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,867 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $629,000 after buying an additional 865 shares during the last quarter. Inceptionr LLC acquired a new position in Watsco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,175,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 45,151 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $15,214,000 after purchasing an additional 8,321 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Watsco by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 6,939 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,338,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watsco Trading Up 0.5%

Watsco stock opened at $427.47 on Thursday. Watsco has a 52 week low of $323.05 and a 52 week high of $535.40. The stock has a market cap of $17.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.40 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $368.62 and a 200-day moving average of $379.95.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th were paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 16th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Watsco’s payout ratio is presently 93.75%.

Watsco Company Profile

Watsco, Inc is the largest distributor of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) equipment, parts and supplies in the United States. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, the company operates a network of more than 600 branches across the continental U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Watsco serves residential and commercial contractors by providing essential components for climate control systems, including air conditioners, furnaces, heat pumps, coils, refrigerants, controls and electrical and piping supplies.

Founded in 1947, Watsco has grown from a single regional distributor into an industry leader through a combination of organic expansion, acquisitions and strategic partnerships with original equipment manufacturers such as Carrier, Trane, Goodman and Lennox.