Algebris UK Ltd Grows Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Algebris UK Ltd raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the quarter. Algebris UK Ltd’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $413,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 665.0% in the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. TFG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the first quarter worth approximately $215,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in A. O. Smith by 63.3% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 4,420 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 1,713 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the first quarter worth approximately $132,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on AOS. UBS Group increased their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.43.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 2.0 %

AOS stock traded up $1.75 on Friday, reaching $87.83. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 999,053 shares, compared to its average volume of 819,927. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.65. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.45. The firm has a market cap of $12.88 billion, a PE ratio of 22.75, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.15. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12-month low of $64.14 and a 12-month high of $89.96.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.01. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.94% and a return on equity of 30.94%. The company had revenue of $978.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $995.91 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. A. O. Smith’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.08 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 33.16%.

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.