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

A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) was the target of a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 7,526,575 shares, a growth of 38.1% from the January 15th total of 5,450,963 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,641,051 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.6 days. Approximately 5.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Approximately 5.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,641,051 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.6 days.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

AOS stock traded up $0.81 during trading on Monday, reaching $80.43. 1,077,881 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,523,773. A. O. Smith has a twelve month low of $58.83 and a twelve month high of $81.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market capitalization of $11.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.32.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $912.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $928.97 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 29.51% and a net margin of 14.26%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith will post 3.76 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 Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 37.31%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at $97,101,000. Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at $80,885,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 54.2% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,208,831 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $235,560,000 after buying an additional 1,128,543 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 220.4% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,022,299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $68,371,000 after buying an additional 703,186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,096,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,009,622,000 after acquiring an additional 683,176 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on AOS. Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 price target on shares of A. O. Smith and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $85.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $69.00 price objective on A. O. Smith and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.00.

A. O. Smith Company Profile

A. O. Smith Corporation, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a leading manufacturer of water heating and water treatment products for residential and commercial applications. Since its founding in 1874, the company has built a reputation for producing reliable, energy-efficient water heaters, boilers and pressure vessels. Its product portfolio encompasses gas, electric, condensing and tankless water heaters, as well as specialty boilers designed to meet a variety of building and industrial needs.

The company operates through two primary segments: North America and Asia.