WESCO International, Inc. (NYSE:WCC) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of WESCO International, Inc. (NYSE:WCC) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the nine research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $215.88.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WCC. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on WESCO International from $186.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on WESCO International from $215.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Stephens increased their price target on shares of WESCO International from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of WESCO International from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of WESCO International from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO David S. Schulz sold 14,938 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.55, for a total value of $3,085,443.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 104,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,578,485.05. This represents a 12.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP William Clayton Geary sold 2,829 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.73, for a total value of $582,010.17. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,213,510.99. The trade was a 7.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 27,767 shares of company stock valued at $5,567,454. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WESCO International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of WESCO International by 23,727.4% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,589,048 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $251,896,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582,379 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in WESCO International by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 762,653 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $128,143,000 after buying an additional 22,080 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of WESCO International during the second quarter valued at approximately $52,782,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC lifted its position in shares of WESCO International by 341.8% in the third quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 258,486 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $43,420,000 after acquiring an additional 199,975 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of WESCO International by 1.5% in the third quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 194,979 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,753,000 after acquiring an additional 2,923 shares during the last quarter. 93.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WESCO International Stock Down 1.0 %

WESCO International stock opened at $191.73 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $194.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $176.98. WESCO International has a 1-year low of $132.37 and a 1-year high of $216.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.35, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 2.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

WESCO International (NYSE:WCC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The technology company reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $5.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.46 billion. WESCO International had a net margin of 3.19% and a return on equity of 13.19%. WESCO International’s revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.49 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that WESCO International will post 12.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WESCO International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.4125 dividend. This represents a $1.65 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. WESCO International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.21%.

WESCO International Company Profile

WESCO International, Inc provides business-to-business distribution, logistics services, and supply chain solutions in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Electrical & Electronic Solutions (EES), Communications & Security Solutions (CSS), and Utility and Broadband Solutions (UBS).