New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Acquires New Stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 7,124 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,376,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Watsco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Watsco by 57.9% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 90 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Watsco in the third quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James began coverage on Watsco in a report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $486.25.

Watsco Stock Down 2.6 %

WSO stock opened at $500.42 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $496.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $498.18. The stock has a market cap of $20.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.77 and a beta of 0.92. Watsco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $396.82 and a fifty-two week high of $571.42.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 17.59%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a dividend of $2.70 per share. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.51%.

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.