Raymond James Financial Reiterates Strong-Buy Rating for WESCO International (NYSE:WCC)

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial has reiterated a "strong-buy" rating for WESCO International, increasing their price objective from $230.00 to $240.00, suggesting a potential upside of 21.23% from the stock's previous close.
• Despite the positive outlook from some analysts, WESCO's stock recently traded down by 4.3%, closing at $197.97.
• WESCO International posted earnings of $3.39 per share for the last quarter, surpassing expectations and showing a revenue increase of 7.7% year-over-year.

WESCO International (NYSE:WCC - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "strong-buy" rating restated by equities research analysts at Raymond James Financial in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $240.00 price objective on the technology company's stock, up from their prior price objective of $230.00. Raymond James Financial's target price suggests a potential upside of 21.23% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Stephens lowered WESCO International from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on WESCO International from $250.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on WESCO International from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on WESCO International from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price target on WESCO International from $225.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $217.33.

WESCO International Stock Down 4.3%

NYSE WCC traded down $9.00 during trading on Friday, hitting $197.97. 46,339 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 738,822. WESCO International has a 12 month low of $125.21 and a 12 month high of $219.07. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $188.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $176.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $9.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.00, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.83.

WESCO International (NYSE:WCC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The technology company reported $3.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.08. WESCO International had a return on equity of 13.40% and a net margin of 3.30%. The company had revenue of $5.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.21 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that WESCO International will post 13.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other WESCO International news, EVP Christine Ann Wolf sold 3,106 shares of WESCO International stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value of $550,196.84. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,181 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,346,262.34. This trade represents a 9.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 3.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WESCO International

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WCC. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of WESCO International by 6,769.8% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 456,290 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $70,862,000 after purchasing an additional 449,648 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of WESCO International in the second quarter valued at approximately $75,136,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of WESCO International by 88.2% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 758,786 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $117,839,000 after purchasing an additional 355,570 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of WESCO International by 149.3% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 255,035 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $46,148,000 after buying an additional 152,727 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of WESCO International by 62.9% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 215,002 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $38,906,000 after buying an additional 83,031 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.76% of the company's stock.

About WESCO International

WESCO International, Inc provides business-to-business distribution, logistics services, and supply chain solutions in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Electrical & Electronic Solutions (EES), Communications & Security Solutions (CSS), and Utility and Broadband Solutions (UBS).

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