Norges Bank Makes New Investment in WillScot Holdings Corporation $WSC

Key Points

• Norges Bank opened a new position in WillScot Holdings in the fourth quarter, buying 2.17 million shares valued at about $40.9 million and ending with roughly 1.19% ownership.
• WillScot’s latest quarterly results beat earnings and revenue expectations, with EPS of $0.21 versus $0.16 expected and revenue of $548.6 million versus $518.2 million forecast.
• Analysts are mixed on the stock: the consensus rating remains Hold with a consensus price target of $25.88, even as several firms recently raised targets.

Norges Bank purchased a new position in WillScot Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:WSC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,173,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,925,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.19% of WillScot at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WSC. CWM LLC grew its holdings in WillScot by 37.7% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,071 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 567 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in WillScot by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 41,604 shares of the company's stock valued at $783,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its stake in shares of WillScot by 117.3% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,258 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its stake in shares of WillScot by 0.4% in the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 185,701 shares of the company's stock worth $5,092,000 after buying an additional 714 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in shares of WillScot by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 103,421 shares of the company's stock worth $1,946,000 after buying an additional 929 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.81% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of WillScot from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of WillScot from $23.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of WillScot from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. William Blair reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of WillScot in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on WillScot from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, WillScot has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $25.88.

WillScot Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of WSC stock opened at $26.91 on Tuesday. WillScot Holdings Corporation has a 52-week low of $14.91 and a 52-week high of $31.88. The stock has a market cap of $4.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -70.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.00, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $22.48 and a 200-day moving average of $21.03.

WillScot (NASDAQ:WSC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.05. WillScot had a negative net margin of 2.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.65%. The company had revenue of $548.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $518.17 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. The business's revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that WillScot Holdings Corporation will post 1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WillScot Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. WillScot's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -73.68%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bradley Lee Soultz sold 4,317 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.92, for a total transaction of $111,896.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 414,059 shares in the company, valued at $10,732,409.28. This trade represents a 1.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 155,781 shares of company stock worth $4,205,113. Company insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

WillScot Profile

WillScot NASDAQ: WSC is a leading North American provider of modular space and portable storage solutions. The company designs, manufactures, leases and sells temporary and permanent modular buildings to serve sectors such as education, healthcare, construction, industrial and government. Its modular space offerings range from single‐unit office trailers and classrooms to complex multi‐unit configurations tailored to diverse project requirements.

In addition to modular structures, WillScot offers a broad portfolio of portable storage containers and related services, including site logistics, customization, delivery and installation.

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