A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund cut its stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 7.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,053 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 323 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $363,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Algebris UK Ltd boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.3% in the first quarter. Algebris UK Ltd now owns 6,109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $506,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 3.3% in the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $413,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 1.5% in the first quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $909,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. American International Group Inc. raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 33,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,740,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 7,726 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $637,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $97.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.67.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of AOS stock traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $84.64. 392,315 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 954,132. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $64.14 and a fifty-two week high of $92.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.70. The company has a market capitalization of $12.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.87.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. Research analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.