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

Key Points

• Stephens reaffirmed its “overweight” rating on Watsco and maintained a $485 price target, implying approximately 55% upside from the reported $312.65 share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Watsco has a consensus “hold” rating and an average price target of $395.50, despite Stephens’ bullish view.
• Watsco’s latest quarterly results fell short of expectations, with $4.00 in EPS versus $4.41 estimated and revenue of $2.10 billion versus $2.14 billion expected; revenue nevertheless rose 2.1% year over year.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "overweight" rating restated by analysts at Stephens in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $485.00 price target on the construction company's stock. Stephens' target price suggests a potential upside of 55.13% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on WSO. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Watsco from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Watsco presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $395.50.

Watsco Price Performance

WSO opened at $312.65 on Monday. Watsco has a 12 month low of $300.66 and a 12 month high of $459.00. The stock has a market cap of $12.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.12 and a beta of 1.05. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $369.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $388.24.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.41 by ($0.41). Watsco had a net margin of 6.53% and a return on equity of 14.40%. The business had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.52 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Watsco will post 12.43 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Watsco

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in Watsco during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Bayban acquired a new stake in Watsco in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Bamco Inc. NY bought a new position in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 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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