DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Boosts Stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 129,525 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned 0.09% of A. O. Smith worth $10,634,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Isthmus Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the second quarter worth $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 157.2% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 665.0% in the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares during the period. Twin Tree Management LP grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 188.9% in the first quarter. Twin Tree Management LP now owns 737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 1,566 shares during the period. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the first quarter worth $109,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total value of $1,191,105.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,399 shares in the company, valued at $194,319. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $81.70 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.00. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52 week low of $64.14 and a 52 week high of $92.44. The company has a market capitalization of $11.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.17, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.01). A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.67% and a return on equity of 31.04%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. A. O. Smith’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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 was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on AOS shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $97.00 to $98.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.