A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) SVP Sells $28,440.84 in Stock

A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) SVP Darrell Schuh sold 356 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.89, for a total transaction of $28,440.84. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 3,295 shares in the company, valued at $263,237.55. The trade was a 9.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of AOS traded down $0.76 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $79.71. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 760,968 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,450,594. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 52 week low of $58.83 and a 52 week high of $81.86. The stock has a market cap of $11.10 billion, a PE ratio of 20.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.36. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $71.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $928.97 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 29.51%. The firm’s revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. On average, analysts predict that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.31%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 19.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 939,302 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,393,000 after buying an additional 154,201 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 52.7% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $839,000 after acquiring an additional 4,414 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter worth about $386,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 32.7% in the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 52,327 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,424,000 after purchasing an additional 12,899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its position in A. O. Smith by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 3,846 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on AOS shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $85.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 price target on A. O. Smith and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $69.00 price objective on A. O. Smith and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $78.00 target price (up from $72.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $77.00 target price on A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.00.

About A. O. Smith

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.