Watsco's (WSO) "Overweight" Rating Reiterated at Stephens

Stephens restated their overweight rating on shares of Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) in a research report report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $500.00 target price on the construction company's stock.

Separately, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $404.25.

Watsco Stock Up 0.7 %

WSO traded up $3.23 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $443.83. 482,385 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 348,324. Watsco has a 12-month low of $315.17 and a 12-month high of $451.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $411.12 and a 200 day moving average of $399.44. The firm has a market cap of $17.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.49 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.26 by ($0.09). Watsco had a return on equity of 21.36% and a net margin of 7.36%. The business had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.83 earnings per share. Watsco's quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Watsco will post 14.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $2.70 dividend. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This is a boost from Watsco's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Watsco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Watsco

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. First PREMIER Bank purchased a new position in shares of Watsco in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company's stock.

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.