Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Invests $2.09 Million in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 6,188 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,085,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WSO. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Watsco by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,927 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,013,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in Watsco by 95.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,297 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $573,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Watsco by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 50,442 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $22,275,000 after purchasing an additional 3,570 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in Watsco by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 16,258 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,180,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Watsco by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 523 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho set a $425.00 price target on Watsco in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research raised Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen raised Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $399.83.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of WSO opened at $381.27 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.64 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $400.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $381.73. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $323.05 and a 52 week high of $494.94.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 15.31% and a net margin of 6.85%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.93 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.64 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 16th were given a $3.30 dividend. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 16th. This is a positive change from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 109.54%.

About Watsco

Watsco, Inc is the largest distributor of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) equipment, parts and supplies in the United States. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, the company operates a network of more than 600 branches across the continental U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Watsco serves residential and commercial contractors by providing essential components for climate control systems, including air conditioners, furnaces, heat pumps, coils, refrigerants, controls and electrical and piping supplies.

Founded in 1947, Watsco has grown from a single regional distributor into an industry leader through a combination of organic expansion, acquisitions and strategic partnerships with original equipment manufacturers such as Carrier, Trane, Goodman and Lennox.