WESCO International (NYSE:WCC) Earns Overweight Rating from Analysts at Barclays

Key Points

• Analysts at Barclays have initiated coverage on WESCO International, giving it an "overweight" rating with a price target of $258.00, suggesting a potential upside of 20.60%.
• WESCO reported earnings of $3.39 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $3.31, along with quarterly revenue of $5.90 billion.
• In recent insider trading activity, CFO David S. Schulz sold 12,227 shares at an average price of $225.17, decreasing his holdings by 9.97%.

Equities research analysts at Barclays initiated coverage on shares of WESCO International (NYSE:WCC - Get Free Report) in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm set an "overweight" rating and a $258.00 price target on the technology company's stock. Barclays's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 20.60% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on WCC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on WESCO International from $205.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Wall Street Zen raised WESCO International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $240.00 price target (up previously from $230.00) on shares of WESCO International in a report on Friday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of WESCO International in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Stephens downgraded shares of WESCO International from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $190.00 to $200.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.20.

WESCO International Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of WCC stock opened at $213.93 on Wednesday. WESCO International has a 1-year low of $125.21 and a 1-year high of $228.35. The company has a market cap of $10.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $213.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $186.94.

WESCO International (NYSE:WCC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The technology company reported $3.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $5.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.82 billion. WESCO International had a net margin of 2.98% and a return on equity of 12.96%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.21 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that WESCO International will post 13.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WESCO International news, CFO David S. Schulz sold 12,227 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.17, for a total transaction of $2,753,153.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 110,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,853,363.92. The trade was a 9.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Nelson John Squires III sold 13,780 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.59, for a total transaction of $3,025,950.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 48,625 shares in the company, valued at $10,677,563.75. This trade represents a 22.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 136,131 shares of company stock valued at $30,384,421 over the last 90 days. 3.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WESCO International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WCC. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in WESCO International by 6,769.8% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 456,290 shares of the technology company's stock worth $70,862,000 after acquiring an additional 449,648 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of WESCO International in the second quarter worth approximately $75,136,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of WESCO International by 88.2% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 758,786 shares of the technology company's stock worth $117,839,000 after purchasing an additional 355,570 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC grew its position in WESCO International by 56.0% during the second quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 605,918 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $112,216,000 after purchasing an additional 217,417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in WESCO International by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 309,081 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $48,001,000 after buying an additional 54,046 shares during the period. 93.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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