William Blair Has Negative Estimate for Watsco Q1 Earnings

Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) - Equities researchers at William Blair reduced their Q1 2026 EPS estimates for shares of Watsco in a research note issued on Wednesday, April 23rd. William Blair analyst R. Merkel now forecasts that the construction company will earn $2.02 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $2.50. The consensus estimate for Watsco's current full-year earnings is $14.62 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Watsco's Q4 2026 earnings at $3.27 EPS.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James assumed coverage on Watsco in a report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Loop Capital lifted their price target on Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Watsco from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Watsco in a report on Monday, April 14th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $515.00 target price for the company. Finally, Mizuho set a $490.00 price target on Watsco in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $480.83.

Watsco Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $455.46 on Monday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $498.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $498.82. The stock has a market cap of $18.40 billion, a PE ratio of 34.37 and a beta of 1.00. Watsco has a 52 week low of $439.08 and a 52 week high of $571.42.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.29 by ($0.36). Watsco had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 7.04%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.17 earnings per share.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Watsco

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,618,109 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,714,586,000 after purchasing an additional 52,127 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Watsco by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,371,535 shares of the construction company's stock worth $649,957,000 after purchasing an additional 118,713 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 725,186 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $343,168,000 after buying an additional 20,856 shares in the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 590,500 shares of the construction company's stock worth $279,832,000 after buying an additional 8,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Watsco by 89,376.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 477,802 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $242,867,000 after acquiring an additional 477,268 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company's stock.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $3.00 per share. This is a positive change from Watsco's previous quarterly dividend of $2.70. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. Watsco's dividend payout ratio is currently 92.24%.

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.

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