Investment Management Corp of Ontario Buys 1,300 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Investment Management Corp of Ontario lifted its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,850 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $2,861,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in A. O. Smith in the second quarter worth $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 214.9% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth about $37,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE AOS opened at $73.59 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $10.67 billion, a PE ratio of 19.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.16. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $78.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.22. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1-year low of $70.73 and a 1-year high of $92.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 14.41%. The firm had revenue of $957.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $960.36 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This is a boost from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 35.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AOS shares. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group raised A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson downgraded A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.71.

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.