Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Grows Position in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 11.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 24,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 2,581 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $1,581,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AOS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth about $96,180,000. Sarasin & Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 1st quarter worth about $74,180,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,704,295 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $320,880,000 after purchasing an additional 995,043 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 242.8% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 627,282 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,787,000 after purchasing an additional 444,307 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,618,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $178,587,000 after purchasing an additional 417,595 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 NYSE AOS opened at $65.65 on Friday. A. O. Smith Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $58.83 and a fifty-two week high of $92.45. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $65.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $9.33 billion, a PE ratio of 18.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.21.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.05. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.39% and a net margin of 13.74%. The firm had revenue of $963.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $950.56 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. A. O. Smith’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup lowered their target price on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on A. O. Smith in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.29.

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.