A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Acquired by Voloridge Investment Management LLC

Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 242.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 627,282 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 444,307 shares during the quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $42,787,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AOS. Norges Bank acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth approximately $96,180,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,704,295 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $320,880,000 after acquiring an additional 995,043 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,648,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $112,467,000 after acquiring an additional 471,990 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,618,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $178,587,000 after acquiring an additional 417,595 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 133.0% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 547,410 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,339,000 after purchasing an additional 312,492 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $69.58 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $9.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.28. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $58.83 and a twelve month high of $92.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $65.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.48.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $963.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $950.56 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. The business’s revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 37.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on AOS shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group reduced 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. Citigroup lowered their price objective on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday, May 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three 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 a consensus target price of $76.17.

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.