AdvisorShares Investments LLC Acquires New Shares in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

AdvisorShares Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,587 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $484,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AOS. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 44,400.0% during the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 988.9% during the 2nd quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP now owns 490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AOS opened at $79.05 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.36. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 1-year low of $58.83 and a 1-year high of $79.23. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

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

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $77.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, January 30th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $85.00 price target on shares of A. O. Smith and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 18th. 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 issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.00.

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.