Wedmont Private Capital Purchases New Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Wedmont Private Capital acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth approximately $96,180,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 26.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,704,295 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $320,880,000 after buying an additional 995,043 shares during the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the 1st quarter worth $57,310,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 242.8% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 627,282 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,787,000 after buying an additional 444,307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 19.0% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,618,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $178,587,000 after acquiring an additional 417,595 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

AOS stock opened at $64.14 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.11 billion, a PE ratio of 17.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.21. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $58.83 and a 1 year high of $92.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.51.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.05. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. The company had revenue of $963.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $950.56 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 37.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AOS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup lowered their price target on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.17.

A. O. Smith 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.