Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 124.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 174,551 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 96,788 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.43% of Watsco worth $63,505,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WSO. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Bayban purchased a new position in Watsco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Bamco Inc. NY bought a new position in Watsco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of WSO opened at $384.98 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.95 and a beta of 1.02. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $323.05 and a 1 year high of $494.94. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $390.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $392.55.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 15.31%. Watsco’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.93 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 16th will be issued a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Watsco’s payout ratio is 109.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $385.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective on Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $402.71.

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.