$2.03 EPS Expected for Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) This Quarter

Analysts expect Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) to report earnings of $2.03 per share for the current fiscal quarter, Zacks Investment Research reports. Six analysts have issued estimates for Watsco’s earnings. The highest EPS estimate is $2.06 and the lowest is $1.98. Watsco posted earnings per share of $1.82 in the same quarter last year, which indicates a positive year-over-year growth rate of 11.5%. The firm is scheduled to report its next earnings results before the market opens on Tuesday, July 25th.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that Watsco will report full-year earnings of $5.70 per share for the current fiscal year, with EPS estimates ranging from $5.55 to $5.95. For the next fiscal year, analysts anticipate that the firm will post earnings of $6.31 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $5.90 to $6.75. Zacks Investment Research’s earnings per share averages are a mean average based on a survey of sell-side research firms that cover Watsco.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 25th. The construction company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.13. Watsco had a net margin of 4.13% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The business had revenue of $872.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $877.45 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. Watsco’s revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Investment Research cut Watsco from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 18th. BidaskClub upgraded Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 15th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Watsco from $152.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. Seaport Global Securities upgraded Watsco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $145.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Watsco in a research report on Tuesday, July 11th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $153.14.

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Shares of Watsco (NYSE WSO) traded up 1.04% during trading on Thursday, hitting $150.90. The stock had a trading volume of 343,440 shares. Watsco has a 12-month low of $128.60 and a 12-month high of $159.55. The firm has a market cap of $4.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.31 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $145.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $146.67.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 31st. Investors of record on Monday, July 17th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 13th. This is a positive change from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.66%.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WSO. Wendell David Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Watsco by 159.6% in the second quarter. Wendell David Associates Inc. now owns 12,705 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,959,000 after buying an additional 7,810 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of Watsco by 2.6% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 7,900 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,218,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Watsco by 41.5% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 24,910 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,841,000 after buying an additional 7,300 shares in the last quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Watsco by 19.1% in the second quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,437 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Watsco by 4.5% in the second quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 11,274 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,738,000 after buying an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. 80.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watsco Company Profile

Watsco, Inc is a distributor of air conditioning, heating and refrigeration equipment, and related parts and supplies (HVAC/R) in the HVAC/R distribution industry in North America. As of December 31, 2016, the Company sold a range of non-equipment products, representing more than 300,000 stock keeping units, including parts, ductwork, air movement products, insulation, tools, installation supplies, thermostats and air quality products.

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