A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Director Kevin Wheeler Sells 14,675 Shares of Stock

A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) Director Kevin Wheeler sold 14,675 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.64, for a total transaction of $963,267.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 128,348 shares in the company, valued at $8,424,762.72. This trade represents a 10.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of AOS opened at $64.58 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.40. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 52-week low of $54.16 and a 52-week high of $81.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.78 billion, a PE ratio of 17.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.64.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.03. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 27.66% and a net margin of 13.01%. The company had revenue of $940.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $960.20 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 42.34%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 10.4% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,168,894 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $143,017,000 after purchasing an additional 203,846 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,959,696 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $129,202,000 after purchasing an additional 64,873 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in A. O. Smith by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,425,759 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $94,014,000 after acquiring an additional 42,702 shares during the last quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $92,005,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 0.4% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,346,863 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $88,812,000 after acquiring an additional 5,175 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $72.00 target price (down from $75.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $58.00 price target on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, October 30th. Longbow Research downgraded A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $59.00 target price on A. O. Smith and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $66.00.

A. O. Smith Company Profile

A. O. Smith Corporation is a manufacturer of water heating and water treatment products for residential, commercial and industrial customers. Its portfolio includes gas and electric storage water heaters, tankless water heaters, boilers, heat pump water heaters, water filtration systems, water softeners and reverse-osmosis products.

The company markets products under the A. O. Smith brand and other regional brands, serving applications ranging from homes and apartments to hotels, hospitals, schools, manufacturing facilities and other commercial properties.