Tudor Financial Inc. Trims Holdings in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Tudor Financial Inc. reduced its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 58.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,195 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,715 shares during the period. Tudor Financial Inc.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $498,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 12.2% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 239,606 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $87,166,000 after purchasing an additional 26,003 shares during the last quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Watsco by 70.0% in the fourth quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 166,172 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $55,992,000 after purchasing an additional 68,442 shares during the last quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. increased its stake in Watsco by 40.1% in the second quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. now owns 78,012 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $32,510,000 after purchasing an additional 22,320 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Watsco during the second quarter worth about $6,563,000. Finally, Markel Group Inc. lifted its position in Watsco by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 577,669 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $194,646,000 after buying an additional 12,500 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on WSO shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $395.50.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSO opened at $315.54 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $348.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $379.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.02 billion, a PE ratio of 27.37 and a beta of 1.05. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $295.75 and a 12 month high of $459.00.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by ($0.41). Watsco had a net margin of 6.53% and a return on equity of 14.40%. The business had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.52 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 16th were given a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 114.48%.

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.