A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Sold by Natixis

Natixis reduced its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 12.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 146,198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 20,476 shares during the quarter. Natixis owned about 0.10% of A. O. Smith worth $13,079,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 665.0% during the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the period. Twin Tree Management LP grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 188.9% during the 1st quarter. Twin Tree Management LP now owns 737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,566 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 25.5% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 961 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 1st quarter worth $109,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.29.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of A. O. Smith stock traded up $1.42 on Thursday, hitting $82.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,460,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 956,711. The company has a market capitalization of $12.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $83.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.78. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52-week low of $64.14 and a 52-week high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1 billion. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.67% and a return on equity of 31.22%. A. O. Smith’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. On average, 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.16%.

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.