Versor Investments LP Sells 2,602 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Versor Investments LP cut its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 76.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 799 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,602 shares during the quarter. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Watsco were worth $353,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WSO. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watsco in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watsco in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 115.4% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 56 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watsco in the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Watsco in the first quarter worth approximately $45,000. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on WSO. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Watsco from $450.00 to $425.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Mizuho lowered their target price on Watsco from $525.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Watsco from $505.00 to $460.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Watsco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Watsco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $440.83.

Watsco Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE WSO opened at $357.59 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $14.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.94 and a beta of 0.93. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $350.00 and a 52 week high of $571.41. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $384.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $427.51.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $3.98 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.60 by ($0.62). The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 16.48%. The company’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.22 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 16th were issued a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 16th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 93.75%.

Watsco Profile

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.