Short Interest in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) Declines By 17.5%

A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 6,213,011 shares, a decline of 17.5% from the January 29th total of 7,526,575 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,521,884 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.1 days. Approximately 4.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Approximately 4.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,521,884 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.1 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 356 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.89, for a total value of $28,440.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 3,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $263,237.55. This represents a 9.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,096,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,009,622,000 after purchasing an additional 683,176 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,911,495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $395,361,000 after buying an additional 458,257 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.4% in the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 4,850,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $356,050,000 after buying an additional 157,856 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,559,612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $304,947,000 after acquiring an additional 37,621 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 54.2% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,208,831 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $235,560,000 after acquiring an additional 1,128,543 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AOS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Wall Street Zen cut A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird set a $77.00 price target on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $78.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.00.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

A. O. Smith stock traded down $2.37 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $75.56. The stock had a trading volume of 79,973 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,340,814. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.45 billion, a PE ratio of 19.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.33. A. O. Smith has a 12 month low of $58.83 and a 12 month high of $81.86. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $73.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.78.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $912.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $928.97 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 29.51%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that A. O. Smith 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 Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is currently 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.