Strs Ohio Makes New Investment in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Key Points

• Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Watsco, Inc. by purchasing 2,443 shares valued at approximately $1,242,000 during the 1st quarter.
• Watsco reported earnings of $4.52 per share for the last quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.84, with a revenue of $2.06 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $3.00 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 3.1%.

Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,443 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $1,242,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Watsco in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Manitou Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Watsco in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in Watsco during the first quarter worth about $25,000. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new position in Watsco during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of WSO stock traded up $5.68 during trading on Friday, hitting $389.93. The company had a trading volume of 634,248 shares, compared to its average volume of 401,385. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.90 and a beta of 0.95. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $425.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $456.53. Watsco, Inc. has a one year low of $378.35 and a one year high of $571.41.

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

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 16th. Watsco's dividend payout ratio 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.