Short Interest in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Increases By 18.7%

A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) saw a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,930,000 shares, a growth of 18.7% from the March 15th total of 3,310,000 shares. Currently, 3.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 945,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.2 days.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total transaction of $836,990.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $800,176.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other A. O. Smith news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 60,258 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.51, for a total value of $5,092,403.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 56,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,812,929.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $800,176.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 95,631 shares of company stock valued at $8,042,535. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 628.0% during the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 36.1% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 393.1% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 858 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the second quarter worth approximately $66,000. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of AOS stock opened at $85.15 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $12.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.01, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $84.70 and a 200-day moving average of $78.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. A. O. Smith has a 1-year low of $63.88 and a 1-year high of $89.96.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.01. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 14.45%. The company had revenue of $988.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $985.89 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 34.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on A. O. Smith from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. Citigroup increased their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.67.

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.