WillScot Holdings Corporation $WSC Shares Purchased by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in WillScot Holdings by 13.9% in Q1, owning approximately 0.09% of the company worth $4.37 million.
• WillScot's recent earnings report showed a profit of $0.27 per share, which missed the consensus estimate of $0.36, resulting in a year-over-year revenue decline of 2.6%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.07 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.2% and a dividend payout ratio of 46.67%.

Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in WillScot Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:WSC - Free Report) by 13.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 157,310 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 19,140 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of WillScot worth $4,373,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WSC. Baillie Gifford & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of WillScot during the 1st quarter worth about $145,392,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of WillScot by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,338,511 shares of the company's stock worth $509,811,000 after acquiring an additional 1,924,653 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of WillScot by 1,246.2% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,229,196 shares of the company's stock worth $41,117,000 after acquiring an additional 1,137,890 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of WillScot by 8,012.5% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 917,765 shares of the company's stock worth $25,514,000 after acquiring an additional 906,452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of WillScot by 23.9% in the 4th quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,594,848 shares of the company's stock valued at $120,248,000 after buying an additional 693,243 shares in the last quarter. 95.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WSC shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of WillScot from $39.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. DA Davidson cut their target price on WillScot from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, William Blair reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of WillScot in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $36.00.

WillScot Stock Performance

WillScot stock traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $23.71. 1,782,566 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,127,482. WillScot Holdings Corporation has a 12-month low of $21.91 and a 12-month high of $42.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.55, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.13. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $27.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.47.

WillScot (NASDAQ:WSC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.09). WillScot had a return on equity of 24.83% and a net margin of 4.66%.The business had revenue of $589.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $587.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.39 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. WillScot has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts predict that WillScot Holdings Corporation will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

WillScot Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. WillScot's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WillScot news, EVP Hezron T. Lopez sold 22,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.63, for a total transaction of $541,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 54,038 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,330,955.94. This represents a 28.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Dominick P. Zarcone acquired 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.19 per share, with a total value of $261,900.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,384 shares in the company, valued at $402,906.96. The trade was a 185.74% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders bought 15,000 shares of company stock worth $387,650. 3.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

WillScot Profile

WillScot Holdings Corporation provides workspace and portable storage solutions in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It operates in two segments, Modular Solutions and Storage Solutions. Its modular solutions include panelized and stackable offices, single-wide modular space units, section modulars and redi-plex, classrooms, ground level offices, blast-resistant modules, clearspan structures, and other modular space; and portable storage solutions, such as portable and cold storage containers, as well as trailers.