WESCO International (NYSE:WCC) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

WESCO International, Inc. (NYSE:WCC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $213.90 and last traded at $213.29, with a volume of 7927 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $209.86.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WCC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of WESCO International from $195.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded WESCO International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on WESCO International from $215.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Loop Capital lifted their target price on WESCO International from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on WESCO International from $186.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WESCO International presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.86.

WESCO International Stock Up 1.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $10.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 2.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $181.86 and a 200-day moving average of $172.16. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

WESCO International (NYSE:WCC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The technology company reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.36. The business 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.49 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that WESCO International, Inc. will post 12.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WESCO International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.4125 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.65 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. WESCO International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.21%.

Insider Activity at WESCO International

In related news, CFO David S. Schulz sold 14,938 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $21,578,485.05. This represents a 12.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven A. Raymund sold 5,819 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.56, for a total transaction of $998,307.64. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,632,806.24. The trade was a 17.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,586 shares of company stock worth $6,565,762 in the last three months. 3.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WESCO International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WESCO International by 3.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 762,653 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $128,143,000 after buying an additional 22,080 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in WESCO International by 0.4% in the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 23,102 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,881,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in WESCO International by 80.4% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 12,034 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,021,000 after acquiring an additional 5,363 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of WESCO International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,160,000. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC grew its stake in shares of WESCO International by 341.8% in the 3rd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 258,486 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $43,420,000 after purchasing an additional 199,975 shares during the last quarter. 93.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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).