Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Raises Dividend to $3.00 Per Share

Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 1st, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of 3.00 per share by the construction company on Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This is a 11.1% increase from Watsco's previous quarterly dividend of $2.70.

Watsco has raised its dividend by an average of 11.5% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 12 years. Watsco has a dividend payout ratio of 66.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Watsco to earn $16.05 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 67.3%.

Watsco Price Performance

WSO stock traded down $14.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $477.78. 399,342 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 253,382. The stock's 50 day moving average is $496.34 and its 200 day moving average is $499.29. Watsco has a 12-month low of $396.82 and a 12-month high of $571.42. The company has a market cap of $19.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.06 and a beta of 1.00.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 17.59%. On average, research analysts forecast that Watsco will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on WSO shares. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Raymond James initiated coverage on Watsco in a report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $486.25.

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.