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

A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,240,000 shares, an increase of 10.2% from the November 15th total of 2,940,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,050,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days. Currently, 2.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

A. O. Smith stock opened at $71.90 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $75.86 and its 200 day moving average is $80.51. A. O. Smith has a one year low of $70.73 and a one year high of $92.44. The firm has a market cap of $10.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82. The business had revenue of $957.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $960.36 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 30.09%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that A. O. Smith will post 3.77 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This is a positive change from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the second quarter valued at approximately $232,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 29.9% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $484,000 after buying an additional 1,245 shares during the last quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.9% in the second quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC now owns 35,275 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,885,000 after buying an additional 980 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.0% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 44,417 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,632,000 after buying an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 7.8% during the second quarter. American National Bank now owns 18,652 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,525,000 after buying an additional 1,357 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson lowered A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.17.

About A. O. Smith

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.