Hsbc Holdings PLC Acquires New Holdings in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings initiated a position in Watsco during the second quarter, purchasing 11,793 shares valued at approximately $4.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 89.71% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious outlook, with an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $395.50. Watsco recently missed quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $4.00 in EPS on $2.10 billion in revenue.
• Watsco’s shares opened at $310.89, well below their 52-week high of $459.00. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $3.30 per share, equivalent to a 4.2% annualized yield, though its payout ratio exceeds 100%.

Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 11,793 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $4,917,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Watsco by 103.1% in the fourth 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 period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 3.1% during 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 buying an additional 46,799 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,238,121 shares of the construction company's stock worth $500,572,000 after buying an additional 16,595 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Watsco by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 638,014 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $214,373,000 after buying an additional 5,176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Markel Group Inc. grew its stake in Watsco by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 582,169 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $211,787,000 after buying an additional 4,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WSO shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watsco from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 price target on Watsco in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $395.50.

Watsco Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $310.89 on Friday. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $295.75 and a 1 year high of $459.00. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $355.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $382.50. The company has a market cap of $12.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.96 and a beta of 1.05.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.41 by ($0.41). Watsco had a net margin of 6.53% and a return on equity of 14.40%. The company had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.52 earnings per share. Watsco's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 114.48%.

Watsco 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WSO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source