WESCO International, Inc. (NYSE:WCC) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of WESCO International, Inc. (NYSE:WCC) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the eight analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $219.43.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on WESCO International from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of WESCO International from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of WESCO International from $245.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of WESCO International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of WESCO International from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WESCO International

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Amiral Gestion acquired a new stake in shares of WESCO International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $796,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new stake in WESCO International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $180,000. Redwood Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in WESCO International in the fourth quarter worth $1,445,000. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of WESCO International by 538.0% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 8,096 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,465,000 after purchasing an additional 6,827 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of WESCO International by 149.3% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 255,035 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $46,148,000 after buying an additional 152,727 shares during the period. 93.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WESCO International Price Performance

WESCO International stock opened at $156.45 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.63 billion, a PE ratio of 11.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 2.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $178.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $182.99. WESCO International has a one year low of $143.06 and a one year high of $216.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

WESCO International (NYSE:WCC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The technology company reported $3.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.23 by ($0.07). WESCO International had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 3.29%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that WESCO International will post 13.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WESCO International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.4538 per share. This is a boost from WESCO International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. WESCO International’s payout ratio is presently 13.85%.

WESCO International Company Profile

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).