A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Short Interest Update

A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,930,000 shares, a growth of 18.7% from the March 15th total of 3,310,000 shares. Approximately 3.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 945,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.2 days.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE:AOS opened at $85.15 on Tuesday. A. O. Smith has a 1-year low of $63.88 and a 1-year high of $89.96. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $84.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.01, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.25.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $988.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $985.89 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 14.45%. A. O. Smith’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that A. O. Smith will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.59%.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In other news, Director Idelle K. Wolf sold 814 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $65,120.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 46,140 shares in the company, valued at $3,691,200. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Idelle K. Wolf sold 814 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $65,120.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 46,140 shares in the company, valued at $3,691,200. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 24,669 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.02, for a total value of $2,048,020.38. Following the sale, the director now owns 56,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,728,072.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,631 shares of company stock worth $8,042,535. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AOS. Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth about $37,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 628.0% during the third quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 36.1% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 393.1% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 858 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the second quarter worth about $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AOS shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on A. O. Smith from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Citigroup upped their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.67.

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.