A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Short Interest Update

A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,470,000 shares, a growth of 11.3% from the August 31st total of 2,220,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 963,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days. Approximately 2.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:AOS traded down $0.89 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $88.94. 847,551 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 944,972. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.04, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $82.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.70. A. O. Smith has a twelve month low of $64.86 and a twelve month 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 the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.67% and a return on equity of 31.04%. A. O. Smith’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that A. O. Smith will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 33.16%.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In related news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total value of $1,191,105.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $194,319. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. KBC Group NV increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 71.2% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,173,179 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $96,716,000 after purchasing an additional 487,742 shares in the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 11.6% in the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 3,852,467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $315,055,000 after purchasing an additional 400,304 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 33.8% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,257,799 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $103,693,000 after acquiring an additional 317,389 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the second quarter worth about $22,288,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 37.2% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 623,357 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $51,390,000 after acquiring an additional 168,911 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on AOS shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird cut their target price 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, July 24th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $97.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.67.

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.