Watsco (NYSE:WSO) Price Target Cut to $425.00 by Analysts at UBS Group

Key Points

• UBS Group has reduced Watsco's price target from $450.00 to $425.00, maintaining a "neutral" rating that indicates an 8.77% potential upside from its current price.
• The company reported a earnings miss with $4.52 EPS compared to the consensus estimate of $4.84, leading to a revenue decline of 3.6% year-over-year.
• Watsco's stock remains under strong institutional ownership, with hedge funds controlling approximately 89.71% of the company's shares.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) had its target price decreased by equities researchers at UBS Group from $450.00 to $425.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the construction company's stock. UBS Group's target price suggests a potential upside of 8.77% from the company's current price.

WSO has been the topic of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Watsco from $445.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $505.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $480.00.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of WSO traded down $0.72 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $390.74. The stock had a trading volume of 13,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 319,321. Watsco has a 1-year low of $378.35 and a 1-year high of $571.41. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $424.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $455.13. The company has a market cap of $15.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.89 and a beta of 0.96.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.84 by ($0.32). Watsco had a return on equity of 16.96% and a net margin of 7.08%.The company had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.49 earnings per share. Watsco's revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Watsco will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Watsco

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WSO. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 89,376.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 477,802 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $242,867,000 after purchasing an additional 477,268 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco in the second quarter valued at about $84,826,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 62.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 468,875 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $238,329,000 after purchasing an additional 180,951 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Watsco by 106.4% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 296,170 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $130,801,000 after buying an additional 152,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Watsco in the first quarter valued at approximately $54,536,000. 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.

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