Ellsworth Advisors LLC Raises Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Ellsworth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,718 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $1,165,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter worth about $1,530,000. Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Watsco by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 3,186 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Vision Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Watsco by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vision Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,639 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $8,415,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Watsco by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 611 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oak Ridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Watsco by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $943,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of Watsco stock traded down $2.31 on Friday, reaching $431.97. 224,766 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 406,253. Watsco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $298.79 and a 1-year high of $441.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 3.36. The firm has a market cap of $17.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s 50-day moving average is $400.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $391.15.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The construction company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($0.44). Watsco had a net margin of 7.36% and a return on equity of 21.36%. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.35 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 17th were paid a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 16th. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 71.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Watsco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $387.00 to $500.00 in a report on Friday, December 8th. Stephens increased their target price on Watsco from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Watsco from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $396.00.

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.