Watsco (WSO) Announces 24% Dividend Hike: Time To Invest?
Zacks Investment Research | Oct 03, 2016 09:54PM ET
In an effort to deliver incremental returns to shareholders, the Board of Watsco Inc. (NYSE:WSO) has approved a 24% increase in its quarterly dividend. Watsco will now pay $1.05 on each outstanding share of its Common and Class B common stock, 20 cents more than the prior dividend of 85 cents per share.
The increased dividend will be paid on Oct 31, 2016 to shareholders on record as of Oct 17. The latest hike brings the annualized dividend rate to $4.20 per share with a dividend yield of around 3% based on Watsco’s closing price of $141.73 as of Oct 3, 2016. Lennox International, Inc. (NYSE:LII) belongs to the same industry and has a dividend yield of 1.1%.
Watsco has paid dividends to shareholders for more than 40 consecutive years. The company’s cash and cash equivalents were $30.5 million at the end of second-quarter 2016. Watsco has recorded operating cash flow of $337 million over the last 12 months, or over $10 per share.
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