A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Stock Position Boosted by SRN Advisors LLC

SRN Advisors LLC boosted its stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 540 shares during the period. SRN Advisors LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $994,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AOS. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in A. O. Smith by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 168,182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,865,000 after buying an additional 6,012 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 10,008 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $825,000 after acquiring an additional 1,772 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 52.4% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 42,621 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,514,000 after acquiring an additional 1,338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Point Inc. acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,047,000. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In related news, Director Ronald D. Brown 3,631 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AOS shares. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $97.00 to $98.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group upped 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.67.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 0.2 %

AOS stock traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $82.40. 1,106,038 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,227,818. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $83.48 and its 200-day moving average is $83.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $12.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.15. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52-week low of $64.14 and a 52-week high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1 billion. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.04% and a net margin of 14.67%. A. O. Smith’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.