Short Interest in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Expands By 15.0%

A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,300,000 shares, an increase of 15.0% from the October 15th total of 2,870,000 shares. Currently, 2.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 980,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of AOS traded down $0.77 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $72.23. 1,214,367 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 973,721. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.24. The stock has a market cap of $10.47 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.17. A. O. Smith has a 12 month low of $72.15 and a 12 month high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The firm had revenue of $957.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $960.36 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. Equities analysts expect that A. O. Smith will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. This is a positive change from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on AOS. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, DA Davidson cut shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned 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 target price of $86.71.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,721,581 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $693,630,000 after acquiring an additional 299,766 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 11.6% in the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 3,852,467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $315,055,000 after purchasing an additional 400,304 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,586,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $321,348,000 after purchasing an additional 52,593 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.9% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,302,659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $206,848,000 after purchasing an additional 87,458 shares during the period. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.7% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,046,798 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $167,387,000 after purchasing an additional 72,856 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.