Delta Global Management LP Buys Shares of 6,408 Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Delta Global Management LP purchased a new position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 6,408 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,591,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake in Watsco by 2,366.7% in the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 74 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its stake in Watsco by 242.9% during the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 72 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Watsco during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 4,700.0% during the second quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 96 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco during the third quarter worth $49,000. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSO has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Watsco in a research note on Monday, January 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Watsco from $460.00 to $370.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Zacks Research upgraded Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $349.00 price target on Watsco in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $409.00.

Watsco Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of WSO opened at $368.69 on Monday. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $323.05 and a 12-month high of $521.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.45 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $393.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $376.21.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 15.49% and a net margin of 6.87%.Watsco’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.37 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 16th were given a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 16th. Watsco’s payout ratio is presently 99.09%.

About Watsco

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.