Watsco (NYSE:WSO) Price Target Raised to $405.00 at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Watsco to $405 from $370, while keeping an equal weight rating on the stock. The new target suggests about 4.45% upside from the previous close.
• Watsco recently reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.87 versus the $1.73 consensus and revenue of $1.53 billion, above expectations. Analysts now expect the company to earn $12.66 per share for the full fiscal year.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly cautious, with the stock carrying an overall Hold rating and a consensus price target of $402.71. Institutional ownership is also high, with hedge funds and institutions holding 89.71% of Watsco shares.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $370.00 to $405.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the construction company's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target points to a potential upside of 4.45% from the company's previous close.

WSO has been the subject of a number of other reports. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. DA Davidson started coverage on Watsco in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $385.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen raised Watsco from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $402.71.

Watsco Stock Performance

WSO stock traded up $10.01 on Friday, hitting $387.74. 32,827 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 425,319. Watsco has a 12-month low of $323.05 and a 12-month high of $494.94. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $394.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $391.08. The stock has a market cap of $15.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.13 and a beta of 1.02.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.14. Watsco had a return on equity of 15.31% and a net margin of 6.85%.The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.93 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Watsco will post 12.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Watsco

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WSO. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Watsco by 103.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,642,893 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,564,423,000 after buying an additional 2,356,998 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in Watsco by 60,779.4% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 599,662 shares of the construction company's stock worth $202,056,000 after acquiring an additional 598,677 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at about $110,853,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Watsco by 202.6% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 472,182 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $159,102,000 after acquiring an additional 316,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in Watsco by 12,054.4% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 173,078 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $69,975,000 after acquiring an additional 171,654 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company's stock.

Watsco Company Profile

Watsco, Inc is the largest distributor of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) equipment, parts and supplies in the United States. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, the company operates a network of more than 600 branches across the continental U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Watsco serves residential and commercial contractors by providing essential components for climate control systems, including air conditioners, furnaces, heat pumps, coils, refrigerants, controls and electrical and piping supplies.

Founded in 1947, Watsco has grown from a single regional distributor into an industry leader through a combination of organic expansion, acquisitions and strategic partnerships with original equipment manufacturers such as Carrier, Trane, Goodman and Lennox.

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