Freestone Grove Partners LP Takes $915,000 Position in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 2,195 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $915,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of WSO. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Watsco by 103.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,642,893 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,564,423,000 after purchasing an additional 2,356,998 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Watsco by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,559,965 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $525,634,000 after purchasing an additional 46,799 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Watsco by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,238,121 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $500,572,000 after purchasing an additional 16,595 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 638,014 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $214,373,000 after purchasing an additional 5,176 shares during the period. Finally, Markel Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 0.8% in the first quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 582,169 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $211,787,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Stock Performance

Watsco stock opened at $310.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $12.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.96 and a beta of 1.05. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $295.75 and a 1 year high of $459.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $355.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $382.50.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by ($0.41). The company had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.53% and a return on equity of 14.40%. Watsco’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.52 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 16th were given a dividend of $3.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Watsco’s payout ratio is 114.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on WSO shares. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 target price on Watsco in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price target on Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $395.50.

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.