MCF Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

MCF Advisors LLC bought a new position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 90 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. First PREMIER Bank purchased a new stake in Watsco during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $404.25.

Watsco Trading Up 0.3 %

WSO stock opened at $463.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.92 and a quick ratio of 1.31. Watsco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $337.58 and a 1-year high of $493.65. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $468.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $429.64. The company has a market capitalization of $18.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.63 and a beta of 0.88.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.03% and a return on equity of 19.26%. The business’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.83 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th were issued a dividend of $2.70 per share. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. This is a boost from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John Alexander Macdonald sold 5,334 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.41, for a total transaction of $2,487,830.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director John Alexander Macdonald sold 5,334 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.41, for a total value of $2,487,830.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 774 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.85, for a total transaction of $366,759.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $838,714.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 12.86% of the company’s stock.

Watsco 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.