Regents Gate Capital LLP Acquires Shares of 146,499 A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Regents Gate Capital LLP bought a new position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 146,499 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,993,000. A. O. Smith accounts for about 4.0% of Regents Gate Capital LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 12.5% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,227 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 2,989 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $269,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 3,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $359,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

A. O. Smith stock opened at $65.19 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $9.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $69.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $76.51. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $64.94 and a 1 year high of $92.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. On average, research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued 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 2.09%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is currently 37.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AOS has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group dropped their price target on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Saturday, February 1st. DA Davidson downgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith has a consensus 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.