Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Cuts Stock Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board decreased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 94.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 47,768 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $254,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the second quarter valued at $228,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 222.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 25,255 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,259,000 after buying an additional 17,411 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 119.8% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,914,000 after buying an additional 11,663 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,127,000. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,495,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 0.6 %

AOS opened at $73.44 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $79.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.65 billion, a PE ratio of 19.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.17. A. O. Smith Co. has a one year low of $70.73 and a one year high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82. The business had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. This is an increase from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 35.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on AOS shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson cut shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group upgraded A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.71.

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.