A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS – Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,120,000 shares, a decrease of 12.4% from the December 15th total of 2,420,000 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 988,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days.
A. O. Smith Price Performance
AOS traded down $0.13 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $80.98. The stock had a trading volume of 695,777 shares, compared to its average volume of 767,879. The stock has a market cap of $12.04 billion, a PE ratio of 40.49, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.68. A. O. Smith has a one year low of $57.45 and a one year high of $82.77. The business has a 50-day moving average of $78.24 and a 200-day moving average of $73.14.
A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $937.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $910.81 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.76% and a net margin of 7.87%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith will post 3.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.
A. O. Smith Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 31st will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.00%.
Insider Activity at A. O. Smith
In related news, VP James F. Stern sold 8,118 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.00, for a total value of $584,496.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 128,118 shares in the company, valued at $9,224,496. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other A. O. Smith news, VP James F. Stern sold 8,118 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.00, for a total transaction of $584,496.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 128,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,224,496. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 3,978 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.23, for a total transaction of $287,330.94. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 56,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,113,570.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 133,725 shares of company stock worth $9,686,543. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the second quarter valued at about $38,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 628.0% during the third quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 515 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 36.1% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Finally, West Tower Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the second quarter worth about $55,000. Institutional investors own 74.48% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
AOS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Northcoast Research raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.33.
A. O. Smith Company Profile
A. O. Smith Corporation manufactures and markets residential and commercial gas, heat pump and electric water heaters, boilers, tanks, and water treatment products in North America, China, Europe, and India. It operates through two segments, North America and Rest of World. The company offers water heaters for residences, restaurants, hotels, office buildings, laundries, car washes, and small businesses; commercial boilers for hospitals, schools, hotels, and other large commercial buildings, as well as residential boilers for homes, apartments, and condominiums; and water treatment products comprising point-of-entry water softeners, well water solutions, and whole-home water filtration products, on-the-go filtration bottles, point-of-use carbon, and reverse osmosis products for residences, restaurants, hotels, and offices.