Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Boosts Stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,810 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,506 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $1,784,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AOS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $108,176,000. KBC Group NV raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 71.2% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,173,179 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $96,716,000 after acquiring an additional 487,742 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 33.8% during the 4th 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 purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $22,288,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 37.2% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 623,357 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $51,390,000 after acquiring an additional 168,911 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on AOS. StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. UBS Group upped their price objective on A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price 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 upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $97.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.67.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE AOS opened at $82.47 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. The business’s 50 day moving average is $82.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.00. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12-month low of $64.14 and a 12-month high of $92.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.37, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.15.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.04% and a net margin of 14.67%. The business’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. Research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 EPS 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 issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 2,399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $194,319. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

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.