Maven Securities LTD Acquires New Stake in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Key Points

• Maven Securities LTD acquired 900 shares of Watsco, Inc., valued at approximately $457,000, marking its new position in the company during the first quarter.
• Watsco recently reported a quarterly earnings miss, posting $4.52 earnings per share against the expected $4.84, alongside a revenue of $2.06 billion, which also fell short of analyst estimates.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $3.00, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.8%, with a payout ratio of 92.02%.

Maven Securities LTD bought a new stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 900 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $457,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Watsco during the 1st quarter valued at about $266,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in Watsco during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,588,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Watsco by 109.4% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 222 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Watsco by 133.1% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 844 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Watsco by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,028 shares of the construction company's stock worth $523,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Watsco from $455.00 to $450.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Watsco from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $505.00 price objective on Watsco in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Watsco from $445.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $484.17.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of WSO traded up $9.1460 on Friday, reaching $414.7760. The stock had a trading volume of 293,823 shares, compared to its average volume of 378,833. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.81 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $444.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $469.32. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $397.73 and a 12-month high of $571.41.

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

Watsco Announces Dividend

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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 16th. Watsco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.02%.

Watsco Company 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.