Aristides Capital LLC Takes Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Aristides Capital LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,044 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AOS. Select Equity Group L.P. grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 3,852,467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $315,055,000 after acquiring an additional 400,304 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 33.8% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,257,799 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $103,693,000 after acquiring an additional 317,389 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter valued at $22,288,000. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 37.2% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 623,357 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $51,390,000 after purchasing an additional 168,911 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Distillate Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 100,431.5% during the 2nd quarter. Distillate Capital Partners LLC now owns 162,861 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,319,000 after buying an additional 162,699 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $194,319. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of AOS opened at $89.83 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.03. The company has a market cap of $13.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.15. A. O. Smith Co. has a one year low of $64.86 and a one year high of $92.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.01). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.04% and a net margin of 14.67%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. A. O. Smith’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

A. O. Smith 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.