Watsco (NYSE:WSO) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.09 EPS

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by ($0.09), Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.03% and a return on equity of 19.26%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.83 EPS.

Watsco Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of WSO opened at $443.21 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $412.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $399.76. Watsco has a twelve month low of $315.17 and a twelve month high of $451.29. The stock has a market cap of $17.51 billion, a PE ratio of 34.09 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $2.70 per share. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This is a positive change from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Watsco’s payout ratio is 83.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WSO. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $404.25.

Watsco Company 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.