A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Short Interest Update

A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,300,000 shares, an increase of 15.0% from the October 15th total of 2,870,000 shares. Approximately 2.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 980,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

AOS stock opened at $72.23 on Monday. A. O. Smith has a 1 year low of $72.15 and a 1 year high of $92.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $10.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.23.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82. The company had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $960.36 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 14.41%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith will post 3.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a boost from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 35.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. DA Davidson cut shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.71.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 214.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

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.