Trexquant Investment LP Takes Position in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP has invested approximately $2.98 million in Watsco, acquiring 5,868 shares of the construction company.
• Watsco reported Q2 earnings per share of $4.52, which missed analysts' expectations by $0.32, with revenue down 3.6% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $3.00 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.1% and a payout ratio of 92.02%.

Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 5,868 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $2,983,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WSO. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter worth $498,000. Bridgefront Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter worth about $203,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Watsco by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 7,929 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,757,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. Crestline Management LP grew its position in Watsco by 278.8% in the 4th quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 8,709 shares of the construction company's stock worth $4,127,000 after purchasing an additional 6,410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its position in Watsco by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 3,357 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,591,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Watsco Stock Up 1.2%

WSO traded up $5.02 on Friday, hitting $408.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 241,987 shares, compared to its average volume of 282,389. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $390.36 and a 12 month high of $571.41. The firm has a market cap of $16.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.32 and a beta of 0.95. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $439.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $463.70.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 16.96% and a net margin of 7.08%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.49 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 16th were given a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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.