What is William Blair’s Estimate for Watsco FY2024 Earnings?

Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) – Equities researchers at William Blair dropped their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for Watsco in a research note issued on Wednesday, October 23rd. William Blair analyst R. Merkel now forecasts that the construction company will post earnings per share of $12.75 for the year, down from their previous estimate of $13.74. The consensus estimate for Watsco’s current full-year earnings is $13.78 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Watsco’s Q4 2024 earnings at $1.86 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.22 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $5.07 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $5.13 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.37 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $14.80 EPS.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on WSO. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st.

Watsco Price Performance

Watsco stock opened at $475.90 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $482.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $474.15. Watsco has a 12-month low of $340.52 and a 12-month high of $520.41. The stock has a market cap of $19.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.61 and a beta of 0.88.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.73 by ($0.51). The company had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 7.02%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.35 earnings per share.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 4.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,411,894 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,473,836,000 after purchasing an additional 146,305 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in shares of Watsco by 1.2% during the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 801,152 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $371,126,000 after acquiring an additional 9,141 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 0.9% in the second quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 571,250 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $264,626,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Watsco by 1.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 393,032 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $182,068,000 after purchasing an additional 6,320 shares during the period. Finally, Motley Fool Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Watsco by 263.6% during the 1st quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 320,008 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $138,234,000 after purchasing an additional 231,987 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 16th will be given a dividend of $2.70 per share. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.08%.

About Watsco

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.