WESCO International (NYSE:WCC) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

WESCO International, Inc. (NYSE:WCC) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $195.99 and last traded at $194.86, with a volume of 361322 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $177.80.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Baird R W upgraded WESCO International from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of WESCO International from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $522.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of WESCO International from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of WESCO International from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of WESCO International from $171.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.86.

WESCO International Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $9.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 2.03. The company has a current ratio of 2.28, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $167.05 and its 200 day moving average is $167.10.

WESCO International (NYSE:WCC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The technology company reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $5.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.55 billion. WESCO International had a net margin of 3.30% and a return on equity of 14.44%. WESCO International’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.71 EPS. Analysts anticipate that WESCO International, Inc. will post 12.14 earnings per share for the current year.

WESCO International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.4125 per share. This represents a $1.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. WESCO International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.81%.

Insider Activity

In other WESCO International news, Director Steven A. Raymund sold 5,819 shares of WESCO International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.56, for a total value of $998,307.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 27,004 shares in the company, valued at $4,632,806.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WESCO International

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCC. Innealta Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of WESCO International by 68.0% during the 3rd quarter. Innealta Capital LLC now owns 1,606 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in WESCO International by 128.3% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 29,666 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,182,000 after purchasing an additional 16,673 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in WESCO International by 142.8% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 30,063 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,050,000 after purchasing an additional 17,682 shares during the period. EMC Capital Management grew its stake in WESCO International by 580.8% during the third quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 16,094 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,703,000 after buying an additional 13,730 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its holdings in WESCO International by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 194,979 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,753,000 after buying an additional 2,923 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.76% of the company’s stock.

About WESCO International

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).