Buckhead Capital Management LLC Purchases 408 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Buckhead Capital Management LLC increased its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,243 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 408 shares during the quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $515,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AOS. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.7% in the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,230 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.2% in the third quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,762 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. PAX Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.7% in the third quarter. PAX Financial Group LLC now owns 10,773 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $712,000 after buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 36.1% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.4% in the third quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 8,036 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $531,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AOS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on A. O. Smith from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.67.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 0.1 %

AOS stock traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $82.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 973,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 999,093. The company has a market cap of $12.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.25. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $85.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12 month low of $63.88 and a 12 month high of $89.96.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.01. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.94% and a net margin of 14.94%. The company had revenue of $978.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $995.91 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. A. O. Smith’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.08 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 33.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Idelle K. Wolf sold 814 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $65,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,691,200. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total transaction of $836,990.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $800,176.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Idelle K. Wolf sold 814 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $65,120.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 46,140 shares in the company, valued at $3,691,200. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,631 shares of company stock worth $8,042,535 in the last ninety days. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.