Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 7,692 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $514,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its position in A. O. Smith by 3,125.0% in the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 387 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 67.9% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 3.6%

A. O. Smith stock opened at $65.95 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company’s 50-day moving average is $72.70 and its 200-day moving average is $70.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.12 billion, a PE ratio of 17.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.33. A. O. Smith Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $58.83 and a fifty-two week high of $81.86.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $912.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $928.97 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 29.51%. A. O. Smith’s revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is currently 37.31%.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In related news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 1,104 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total transaction of $82,126.56. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $163,732.39. The trade was a 33.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

A. O. Smith Profile

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.