Guinness Asset Management LTD Boosts Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Guinness Asset Management LTD lifted its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 16.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,531 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,082 shares during the period. Guinness Asset Management LTD’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $514,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sarasin & Partners LLP bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at $78,766,000. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 11.6% during the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 3,852,467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $315,055,000 after buying an additional 400,304 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in A. O. Smith by 92.4% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 761,410 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $68,397,000 after buying an additional 365,710 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,721,581 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $693,630,000 after acquiring an additional 299,766 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at about $24,060,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE AOS opened at $71.87 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.42 billion, a PE ratio of 18.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $71.23 and its 200 day moving average is $78.24. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $67.17 and a twelve month high of $92.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.82. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The company had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $960.36 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. Research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is currently 35.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AOS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson downgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup dropped their price target on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.14.

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.