Watsco (NYSE:WSO) Coverage Initiated at Northcoast Research

Northcoast Research initiated coverage on shares of Watsco (NYSE:WSO) in a report released on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage set a “neutral” rating on the construction company’s stock.

WSO has been the subject of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $491.25.

Watsco Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE WSO opened at $554.79 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $499.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $485.16. The stock has a market cap of $22.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.87 and a beta of 0.88. Watsco has a 52 week low of $373.33 and a 52 week high of $555.42.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced 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 business had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.99% and a return on equity of 17.77%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.35 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Watsco will post 13.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,624,159 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,782,651,000 after purchasing an additional 346,470 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Watsco by 5.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,252,822 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $616,357,000 after purchasing an additional 62,041 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Watsco by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,173,762 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $577,350,000 after purchasing an additional 65,846 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in Watsco by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 801,152 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $371,126,000 after buying an additional 9,141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Watsco by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 704,330 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $345,783,000 after acquiring an additional 63,254 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watsco Company 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.