GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Has $1.99 Million Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lessened its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,098 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,308 shares during the quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $1,985,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AOS. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,726,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the second quarter valued at $1,372,000. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at $730,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in 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 worth $321,348,000 after buying an additional 52,593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WealthPlan Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 89.3% during the 3rd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 36,206 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,252,000 after buying an additional 17,079 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE AOS opened at $65.50 on Friday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52-week low of $64.94 and a 52-week high of $92.44. The stock has a market cap of $9.50 billion, a PE ratio of 18.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $70.04 and a 200-day moving average of $76.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.55.

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

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is 37.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lowered their target price on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup decreased 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 note on Monday, January 13th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Saturday, February 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.86.

A. O. Smith 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.