MBB Public Markets I LLC Purchases New Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 9,348 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $764,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AOS. Isthmus Partners LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 157.2% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 665.0% in the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Twin Tree Management LP boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the second quarter worth $93,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on AOS shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $97.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.67.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

A. O. Smith stock opened at $88.94 on Wednesday. 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 1 year low of $64.86 and a 1 year high of $92.44. The company has a market cap of $13.04 billion, a PE ratio of 23.04, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s 50-day moving average is $82.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.04.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released 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). 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is 33.16%.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In related news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $194,319. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.