A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Stock Position Raised by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,108 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $1,463,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,230 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,762 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. PAX Financial Group LLC lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. PAX Financial Group LLC now owns 10,773 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $712,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 36.1% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. Finally, Guinness Asset Management LTD grew its position in A. O. Smith by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 8,036 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $531,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AOS. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.67.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE AOS opened at $86.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The company has a market capitalization of $12.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.37, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.27. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12 month low of $63.88 and a 12 month high of $89.96. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $86.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.78.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $978.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $995.91 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.94% and a net margin of 14.94%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 33.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In other news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 60,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.51, for a total value of $5,092,403.58. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 56,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,812,929.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total transaction of $836,990.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,455 shares in the company, valued at $800,176.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 60,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.51, for a total value of $5,092,403.58. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 56,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,812,929.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 94,817 shares of company stock valued at $7,977,415. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About A. O. Smith

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.