Archer Investment Corp Purchases New Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Archer Investment Corp purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,365 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $302,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AOS. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 214.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on AOS. DA Davidson downgraded A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group upgraded A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.71.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

AOS traded down $0.52 on Friday, hitting $72.48. 95,790 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 968,554. The company has a 50 day moving average of $80.68 and a 200-day moving average of $82.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.51 billion, a PE ratio of 19.22, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.17. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12-month low of $72.32 and a 12-month high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82. The business had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $960.36 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 14.41%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. This is a boost from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.79%.

A. O. Smith Company Profile

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.