Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Takes Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,402 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 961 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 52.4% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $147,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:AOS opened at $82.39 on Thursday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12 month low of $64.14 and a 12 month high of $89.96. 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.30. The firm has a market cap of $12.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.34, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.18.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.01. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.94% and a return on equity of 30.94%. The business had revenue of $978.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $995.91 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is currently 33.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Robert W. Baird lifted 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 report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Citigroup lifted 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 report on Monday, April 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.67.

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.