Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Raises Dividend to $2.70 Per Share

Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, April 1st, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of 2.70 per share by the construction company on Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This is an increase from Watsco's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45.

Watsco has increased its dividend payment by an average of 12.3% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 10 consecutive years. Watsco has a payout ratio of 61.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Watsco to earn $16.29 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $9.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 60.2%.

Watsco Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of WSO stock traded down $6.89 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $427.28. The company had a trading volume of 244,216 shares, compared to its average volume of 351,253. The company has a market capitalization of $16.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 3.36. Watsco has a twelve month low of $298.79 and a twelve month high of $441.29. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $402.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $393.43.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The construction company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.44). Watsco had a return on equity of 21.36% and a net margin of 7.36%. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.35 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Watsco will post 14.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Watsco from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Watsco from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $387.00 to $500.00 in a report on Friday, December 8th. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on shares of Watsco from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $396.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WSO. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Watsco in the 3rd quarter valued at $207,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 3,900.0% during the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 400 shares of the construction company's stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 130.1% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 398 shares of the construction company's stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Lumature Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Watsco by 136.6% in the 1st quarter. Lumature Wealth Partners LLC now owns 265 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in Watsco during the second quarter worth approximately $76,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company's stock.

About Watsco

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.