Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Plans $2.70 Quarterly Dividend

Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 2nd,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a dividend of 2.70 per share by the construction company on Friday, January 31st. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%.

Watsco has increased its dividend payment by an average of 12.3% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 11 consecutive years. Watsco has a dividend payout ratio of 74.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Watsco to earn $14.51 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $10.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 74.4%.

Watsco Price Performance

Watsco stock opened at $473.89 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.62 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $511.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $492.47. Watsco has a 52-week low of $373.33 and a 52-week high of $571.41.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.73 by ($0.51). The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.77% and a net margin of 6.99%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.35 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Watsco will post 13.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Watsco news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.21, for a total transaction of $5,589,293.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 12.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on WSO. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on Watsco in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th.

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.