Empowered Funds LLC Purchases 143,103 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 1,477.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 152,792 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 143,103 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $10,422,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.4% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 13,844 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 25,904 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,119,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 24,436 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,195,000 after purchasing an additional 1,419 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,227 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its position in A. O. Smith by 30.8% during the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 17,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,563,000 after buying an additional 4,100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE:AOS opened at $65.19 on Monday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52-week low of $64.94 and a 52-week high of $92.44. The business’s fifty day moving average is $69.85 and its 200 day moving average is $76.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.55. The firm has a market cap of $9.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.96, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.17.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. Research analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on AOS. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group dropped their price objective on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup decreased their target price on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. DA Davidson cut A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.86.

A. O. Smith 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.