Yousif Capital Management LLC Increases Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,252 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $6,963,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 53.1% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 75 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Watsco from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Watsco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $404.25.

Watsco Price Performance

Watsco stock opened at $440.60 on Thursday. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $315.17 and a 12 month high of $451.29. The company has a current ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $410.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $399.13. The company has a market cap of $17.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.25 and a beta of 0.90.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.26 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 21.36% and a net margin of 7.36%. The company’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.19 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. This is an increase from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.06%.

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.