Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Acquires 929 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 40.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,217 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 929 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Watsco were worth $1,582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WSO. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Watsco by 32.5% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 1,633 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $705,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 66.7% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 500 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $216,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 159.0% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 202 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of Watsco in the first quarter valued at about $491,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its stake in Watsco by 100.0% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 58 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $491.25.

Watsco Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE:WSO opened at $554.60 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.86 and a beta of 0.88. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $373.33 and a 52 week high of $555.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $499.99 and a 200 day moving average of $485.04.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.73 by ($0.51). Watsco had a net margin of 6.99% and a return on equity of 17.77%. The business had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.35 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.06 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 16th were paid a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 16th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Watsco’s payout ratio is 83.46%.

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.