GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd Reduces Stock Position in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd cut its holdings in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 55.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 98,456 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 123,560 shares during the period. A. O. Smith accounts for 0.2% of GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd owned approximately 0.07% of A. O. Smith worth $7,228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the second quarter valued at about $1,045,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $386,000. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,837,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,265,091 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $82,952,000 after buying an additional 13,906 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at approximately $750,000. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 18th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $78.00 price objective (up previously from $72.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $77.00 price objective on A. O. Smith in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.00.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

A. O. Smith stock opened at $79.09 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $70.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market cap of $11.01 billion, a PE ratio of 20.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.36. A. O. Smith Corporation has a twelve month low of $58.83 and a twelve month high of $79.79.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $912.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $928.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 37.31%.

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.