Axa S.A. Makes New Investment in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Axa S.A. acquired 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. The firm acquired 19,005 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,296,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AOS. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at $235,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 25,826 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,762,000 after purchasing an additional 1,390 shares during the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $123,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 23.0% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 329,436 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $22,471,000 after buying an additional 61,602 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE:AOS opened at $67.97 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.92. A. O. Smith Co. has a one year low of $58.83 and a one year high of $92.45. The firm has a market cap of $9.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.28. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. The company had revenue of $963.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $950.56 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. A. O. Smith’s revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced 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 research report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.17.

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.