V Square Quantitative Management LLC Grows Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 13.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,089 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $279,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AOS. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 4.4% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 13,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,188,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 44.7% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,828 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $640,000 after buying an additional 2,419 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 20.9% during the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 620,212 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,714,000 after buying an additional 107,248 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 648.8% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 45,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,072,000 after buying an additional 39,276 shares during the period. Finally, Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $66.22 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.55. The company has a market cap of $9.60 billion, a PE ratio of 18.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.86. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $64.55 and a fifty-two week high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. As a group, equities analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at $180,471.85. The trade was a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $67,356.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $583,562.85. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer cut their price target on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson lowered A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.86.

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.