LaFleur & Godfrey LLC Increases Stake in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Key Points

• LaFleur & Godfrey LLC increased its position in Watsco, Inc. by 2.9% during the second quarter, holding approximately 39,378 shares valued at $17.39 million, which constitutes 2.2% of its total portfolio.
• Watsco reported a Q2 EPS of $4.52, falling short of analysts' estimates of $4.84, while revenue for the quarter was $2.06 billion, down 3.6% year-over-year.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $3.00, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.1%, with a high payout ratio of 92.02%.

LaFleur & Godfrey LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 2.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,378 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,122 shares during the quarter. Watsco comprises approximately 2.2% of LaFleur & Godfrey LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC owned 0.10% of Watsco worth $17,390,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WSO. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 89,376.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 477,802 shares of the construction company's stock worth $242,867,000 after acquiring an additional 477,268 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Watsco by 62.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 468,875 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $238,329,000 after acquiring an additional 180,951 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 1st quarter valued at $54,536,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,454,512 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $739,088,000 after buying an additional 82,977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 1st quarter valued at $41,218,000. 89.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price target on Watsco from $455.00 to $450.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $505.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Watsco from $445.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $484.17.

Watsco Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of WSO traded up $1.97 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $391.82. 1,015,192 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 418,406. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $378.35 and a 52 week high of $571.41. The company's 50 day moving average is $424.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $455.13. The company has a market capitalization of $15.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.05 and a beta of 0.96.

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

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 16th. Watsco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.02%.

Watsco Profile

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.