Bayforest Capital Ltd Decreases Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Bayforest Capital Ltd trimmed its position in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 93.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 653 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 9,558 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $44,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 26.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 665,793 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $48,876,000 after buying an additional 139,117 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.6% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,508,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $184,182,000 after buying an additional 109,654 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 19.9% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 273,216 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,057,000 after buying an additional 45,299 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.8% during the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,082,982 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $152,912,000 after acquiring an additional 36,122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 2.1% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,871,694 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $137,393,000 after acquiring an additional 38,694 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of AOS stock opened at $65.14 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $9.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.88, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.35. The business’s fifty day moving average is $69.24 and its 200 day moving average is $69.19. A. O. Smith Corporation has a twelve month low of $62.14 and a twelve month high of $81.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.06. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 29.51% and a net margin of 14.26%.The business had revenue of $912.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $928.97 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.31%.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In related news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 1,104 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total transaction of $82,126.56. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $163,732.39. The trade was a 33.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on AOS. Robert W. Baird set a $77.00 price target on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 price target on shares of A. O. Smith and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $78.00 price target on shares of A. O. Smith and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.89.

A. O. Smith Company 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.