Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO – Get Rating) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research issued their Q3 2022 earnings per share estimates for Watsco in a report released on Thursday, September 15th. Zacks Research analyst S. Mukherjee forecasts that the construction company will post earnings per share of $4.21 for the quarter. The consensus estimate for Watsco's current full-year earnings is $14.50 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Watsco's Q4 2022 earnings at $2.17 EPS, FY2022 earnings at $14.22 EPS, Q1 2023 earnings at $2.84 EPS, Q2 2023 earnings at $3.98 EPS, Q3 2023 earnings at $3.75 EPS, Q4 2023 earnings at $2.75 EPS, FY2023 earnings at $13.32 EPS, Q1 2024 earnings at $2.78 EPS, Q2 2024 earnings at $3.86 EPS and FY2024 earnings at $13.28 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on WSO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Wednesday, August 17th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $311.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens cut their price objective on Watsco to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 27th. Robert W. Baird raised Watsco from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $313.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 14th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Watsco from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Watsco from $204.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $300.20.

Watsco Price Performance

Watsco (NYSE:WSO – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 26th. The construction company reported $4.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.15 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.56% and a return on equity of 25.27%. Watsco's revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.71 EPS.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 15th were issued a $2.20 dividend. This represents a $8.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 14th. Watsco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Watsco

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Zullo Investment Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 351.6% in the 1st quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 140 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 1st quarter valued at $56,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 484,113 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $151,462,000 after purchasing an additional 11,069 shares in the last quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC now owns 38,682 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $11,784,000 after purchasing an additional 3,067 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 1,673 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $523,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.38% of the company's stock.

About Watsco

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Watsco, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, distributes air conditioning, heating, refrigeration equipment, and related parts and supplies. The company distributes equipment comprising residential ducted and ductless air conditioners, such as gas, electric, and oil furnaces; commercial air conditioning and heating equipment systems; and other specialized equipment.

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