Trexquant Investment LP Invests $2.98 Million in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Trexquant Investment LP bought a new position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 5,868 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,983,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WSO. Manitou Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Watsco by 115.4% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 56 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group cut their target price on Watsco from $455.00 to $450.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $505.00 price target on Watsco in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Watsco from $445.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $484.17.

Watsco Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:WSO opened at $392.49 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $15.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.10 and a beta of 0.95. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $440.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $465.43. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $390.36 and a 12-month high of $571.41.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.84 by ($0.32). The company had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.08% and a return on equity of 16.96%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.49 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 16th were issued a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 16th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Watsco’s payout ratio is presently 92.02%.

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.