Research Analysts Set Expectations for Watsco Q1 Earnings

Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) – Stock analysts at William Blair issued their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Watsco in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, April 9th. William Blair analyst R. Merkel forecasts that the construction company will post earnings per share of $2.50 for the quarter. The consensus estimate for Watsco’s current full-year earnings is $14.62 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Watsco’s Q2 2026 earnings at $5.52 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $5.46 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.83 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $16.31 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $17.77 EPS.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on WSO. Raymond James assumed coverage on Watsco in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target 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 boosted their price target on Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $486.25.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of WSO stock opened at $500.56 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $495.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $498.81. Watsco has a twelve month low of $396.82 and a twelve month high of $571.42. The company has a market capitalization of $20.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.78 and a beta of 1.00.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly 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 analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 7.04%.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This is a boost from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.70. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 90.57%.

Institutional Trading of Watsco

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. RFG Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 16.1% in the first quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 4,518 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,297,000 after buying an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 260.0% in the first quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 72 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 112,500.0% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,126 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $572,000 after buying an additional 1,125 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 4.5% in the first quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 2,487 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,264,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 89,376.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 477,802 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $242,867,000 after buying an additional 477,268 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.