Watsco, Inc. (WSO) To Go Ex-Dividend on January 17th

Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 2nd,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a dividend of 2.70 per share by the construction company on Friday, January 31st. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th.

Watsco has increased its dividend payment by an average of 11.4% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 11 consecutive years. Watsco has a payout ratio of 66.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Watsco to earn $14.51 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $10.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 74.4%.

Watsco Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of WSO opened at $481.59 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $19.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.22 and a beta of 0.95. Watsco has a 12 month low of $373.33 and a 12 month high of $571.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $510.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $492.04.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 6.99% and a return on equity of 17.77%. Watsco’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.35 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Watsco will post 13.06 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.21, for a total transaction of $5,589,293.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 12.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on WSO shares. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Watsco in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating for the company.

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.