Allstate Corp Acquires 927 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Key Points

• Allstate Corp increased its stake in Watsco, Inc. by 91.8%, now holding shares valued at approximately $985,000.
• Watsco reported a quarterly EPS of $4.52, falling short of the consensus estimate, with revenues decreasing 3.6% year-over-year to $2.06 billion.
• Watsco announced a quarterly dividend of $3.00 per share, amounting to a 2.9% dividend yield on an annualized basis.

Allstate Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 91.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,937 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 927 shares during the period. Allstate Corp's holdings in Watsco were worth $985,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Manitou Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Watsco in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Watsco during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its stake in 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. City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in Watsco during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in shares of Watsco during the first quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company's stock.

Watsco Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:WSO traded down $6.93 during trading on Thursday, reaching $401.74. The stock had a trading volume of 174,750 shares, compared to its average volume of 302,292. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $397.73 and a 52 week high of $571.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.81 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $443.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $468.05.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.84 by ($0.32). Watsco had a return on equity of 16.96% and a net margin of 7.08%.The company had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.49 EPS. The company's revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 16th were paid a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 16th. Watsco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $505.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Watsco from $445.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Watsco from $455.00 to $450.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Watsco from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $484.17.

About Watsco

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.