A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Short Interest Up 8.6% in January

A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,530,000 shares, a growth of 8.6% from the January 15th total of 4,170,000 shares. Approximately 3.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,190,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.8 days.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE AOS opened at $66.15 on Tuesday. A. O. Smith has a fifty-two week low of $64.55 and a fifty-two week high of $92.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.59 billion, a PE ratio of 18.25, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $68.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.74.

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

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,471.85. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $67,356.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $583,562.85. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 242.8% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 627,282 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,787,000 after buying an additional 444,307 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 924.7% during the 4th quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 57,312 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,909,000 after buying an additional 51,719 shares during the period. Sone Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,705,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 360.0% during the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 343,692 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $23,443,000 after purchasing an additional 268,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Twinbeech Capital LP bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,433,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Saturday, February 1st. DA Davidson lowered A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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 dropped their price objective on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, A. O. Smith presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.86.

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.