Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. Acquires Shares of 46,600 A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 46,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,421,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 3,125.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 387 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 44,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the second quarter worth $30,000. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 988.9% during the second quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP now owns 490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AOS. Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 target price on A. O. Smith and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $77.00 price target on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $69.00 price objective on shares of A. O. Smith and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $78.00 target price (up previously from $72.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $85.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.00.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

AOS opened at $77.79 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $72.41 and its 200 day moving average is $70.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market cap of $10.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.15, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.36. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 12-month low of $58.83 and a 12-month high of $81.86.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $912.50 million during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 37.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.89, for a total transaction of $28,440.84. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 3,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $263,237.55. The trade was a 9.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

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.