Kentucky Retirement Systems Cuts Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 2.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,102 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 226 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $744,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,991,003 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $164,138,000 after buying an additional 75,898 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,973,942 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $176,589,000 after acquiring an additional 106,329 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,326,586 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $118,677,000 after purchasing an additional 68,787 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at $108,176,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in A. O. Smith by 1.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,194,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $97,708,000 after purchasing an additional 19,890 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AOS has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $97.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.67.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $194,319. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:AOS opened at $82.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $12.09 billion, a PE ratio of 21.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12-month low of $64.14 and a 12-month high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued 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 company 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.01 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued 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 1.54%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.16%.

A. O. Smith Company Profile

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.