Inspire Investing LLC Buys 1,155 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,533 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $1,128,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 7.2% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,007 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 12.5% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 5.0% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 5.1% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup cut their price objective on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $88.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Saturday, January 18th. Finally, DA Davidson cut A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.14.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:AOS opened at $71.36 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $71.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.02. A. O. Smith Co. has a one year low of $67.17 and a one 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 has a market capitalization of $10.35 billion, a PE ratio of 18.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.18.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.82. The business had revenue of $957.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.79%.

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.