Watsco Short Interest Retreats Ahead of Earnings

Short sellers have cut positions by 10% over the past month as the HVAC distributor rallies into its April 28 report. Options sentiment has flipped sharply bullish while analysts hold neutral ratings with limited conviction.

Short interest positioning

Short interest stands at 8.6% of free float as of April 23, down 10.2% over the past month. Shares short declined from 3.08 million in late March to 2.77 million currently. The reduction accelerated in early April as the stock rallied 21% month-to-date. Days to cover sits at 7.6 based on fortnightly FINRA data. Cost to borrow remains modest at 0.58%, up 6.8% over the month but down 14% over the past week. Utilization has eased to 20.7% from a 52-week high of 27% hit on April 16.

Options market

Put-call ratio collapsed to 0.27 on April 24, well below the 20-day mean of 0.74. The z-score of -1.26 signals a pronounced shift toward calls. PCR traded near 1.50 in late March before plunging below 0.30 in recent sessions. The current reading sits near the 52-week low of 0.14, reflecting bullish positioning ahead of the print.

Analyst activity

All 11 analysts covering WSO rate the stock Hold. JP Morgan raised its target to $400 from $370 on February 19 while maintaining Neutral. That followed a January round of downgrades: Morgan Stanley cut its target from $460 to $370, UBS lowered to $370 from $390, and Mizuho trimmed to $370 from $400. William Blair downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform in October. Consensus targets cluster around the $370–400 range, implying limited upside from the current $440 level.

Valuation & factor positioning

P/E sits at 33.5, up 5.1 points over the past 30 days as the stock outpaced earnings estimates. EV/EBITDA ticked down slightly to 20.6 despite the rally. The dividend score ranks in the 97th percentile. EPS momentum scores are moderate: 43rd percentile over 30 days, 26th percentile over 90 days. EPS surprise ranks at the 53rd percentile.

Insider & institutional context

Insiders sold $251,000 net over the past 90 days, though that data is stale at 134 days old. Capital Research holds 13.5% after adding 2.2 million shares in January. CEO Albert Nahmad owns 11.3%, VP Aaron Nahmad 1.0%. BlackRock and Vanguard combined hold 19%.

Historical context

WSO last reported on February 17. Prior prints occurred in mid-February and late April 2026. The stock has rallied sharply into this print after consolidating through early 2026.

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