EntryPoint Capital LLC Acquires Shares of 3,480 A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 3,480 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $237,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AOS. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,726,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in A. O. Smith by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,231,084 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $83,972,000 after acquiring an additional 12,305 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at about $730,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,586,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $321,348,000 after acquiring an additional 52,593 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 27,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,898,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $67,356.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,562.85. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $27,507.35. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,471.85. This represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AOS opened at $65.59 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $67.29 and a 200 day moving average of $72.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market cap of $9.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12 month low of $64.55 and a 12 month high of $92.45.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer cut their price target on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Saturday, March 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith currently 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.