Victory Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS)

Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 44.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 138,169 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 42,582 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.10% of A. O. Smith worth $9,031,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AOS. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 9.7% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 178,543 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,670,000 after buying an additional 15,769 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 41.6% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,089 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $463,000 after buying an additional 2,084 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 75.8% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 402,039 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,277,000 after buying an additional 173,366 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 18.3% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 8,085 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $528,000 after buying an additional 1,251 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.3% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,532 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AOS shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on A. O. Smith in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Five 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 has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.71.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE AOS opened at $74.00 on Friday. A. O. Smith Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $58.83 and a fifty-two week high of $92.06. The stock has a market cap of $10.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a fifty day moving average of $66.76 and a 200-day moving average of $66.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.10. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.39% and a net margin of 13.74%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $997.89 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.06 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is currently 37.99%.

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.