William Blair Issues Negative Forecast for Watsco Earnings

Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) – Equities research analysts at William Blair decreased their Q1 2026 EPS estimates for Watsco in a research note issued on Wednesday, April 23rd. William Blair analyst R. Merkel now expects that the construction company will post earnings per share of $2.02 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $2.50. The consensus estimate for Watsco’s current full-year earnings is $14.62 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Watsco’s Q4 2026 earnings at $3.27 EPS.

WSO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, January 17th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com cut Watsco from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Watsco in a research report on Monday, April 14th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $515.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Watsco from $560.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $480.83.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of WSO opened at $455.39 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $18.40 billion, a PE ratio of 34.37 and a beta of 1.00. Watsco has a 1 year low of $439.08 and a 1 year high of $571.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $496.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $498.28.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.29 by ($0.36). The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 7.04%. Watsco’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.17 EPS.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This is an increase from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.70. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.24%.

Institutional Trading of Watsco

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Watsco by 5.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 51,590 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,645,000 after acquiring an additional 2,738 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Watsco by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 464,061 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $228,263,000 after purchasing an additional 41,845 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in Watsco in the fourth quarter worth about $10,446,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 139,157 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $65,966,000 after buying an additional 18,279 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 97,832 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $46,362,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.