WealthPlan Investment Management LLC Increases Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

WealthPlan Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 89.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,206 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,079 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $3,252,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,007 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $164,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,227 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $110,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Algebris UK Ltd grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Algebris UK Ltd now owns 6,109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $506,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 2,989 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, Kessler Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Kessler Investment Group LLC now owns 5,087 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $416,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AOS shares. UBS Group upgraded A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson cut A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.71.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

AOS stock opened at $75.09 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $10.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.17. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $72.41 and a 1 year high of $92.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $81.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.53.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82. The firm had revenue of $957.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $960.36 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 14.41%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This is an increase from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 35.79%.

A. O. Smith Company Profile

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.