A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Stake Lessened by Andra AP fonden

Andra AP fonden trimmed its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 4.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 166,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,200 shares during the quarter. Andra AP fonden’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $13,649,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 100,447 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,281,000 after buying an additional 16,643 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 217.9% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 31,025 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,558,000 after acquiring an additional 21,266 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 59.9% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 109,235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,005,000 after purchasing an additional 40,901 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 27,484 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,266,000 after purchasing an additional 766 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $821,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total transaction of $1,191,105.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,399 shares in the company, valued at $194,319. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on AOS shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $97.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.67.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $78.68 on Wednesday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12-month low of $64.14 and a 12-month high of $92.44. The company has a market cap of $11.48 billion, a PE ratio of 20.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.04% and a net margin of 14.67%. The company’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.01 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 33.16%.

About A. O. Smith

A. O. Smith Corporation manufactures and markets residential and commercial gas and electric water heaters, boilers, heat pumps, tanks, and water treatment products in North America, China, Europe, and India. The company offers water heaters for residences, restaurants, hotels, office buildings, laundries, car washes, and small businesses; boilers for hospitals, schools, hotels, and other large commercial buildings, as well as homes, apartments, and condominiums; and water treatment products comprising point-of-entry water softeners, well water solutions, and whole-home water filtration products, and point-of-use carbon and reverse osmosis products for residences, restaurants, hotels, and offices.