Darrell Schuh Sells 356 Shares of A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Stock

A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) SVP Darrell Schuh sold 356 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.89, for a total value of $28,440.84. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 3,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $263,237.55. This trade represents a 9.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of AOS stock opened at $78.93 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $10.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.36. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 12 month low of $58.83 and a 12 month high of $81.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $72.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $912.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $928.97 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 29.51%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. Research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is 37.31%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 19.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 939,302 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $61,393,000 after buying an additional 154,201 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 52.7% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $839,000 after purchasing an additional 4,414 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the second quarter valued at approximately $386,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 32.7% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 52,327 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,424,000 after buying an additional 12,899 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 6.9% during the second quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 3,846 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $275,000 after buying an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $77.00 price objective on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $78.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $69.00 price objective on A. O. Smith and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $85.00 price objective on shares of A. O. Smith and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.00.

About A. O. Smith

A. O. Smith Corporation, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a leading manufacturer of water heating and water treatment products for residential and commercial applications. Since its founding in 1874, the company has built a reputation for producing reliable, energy-efficient water heaters, boilers and pressure vessels. Its product portfolio encompasses gas, electric, condensing and tankless water heaters, as well as specialty boilers designed to meet a variety of building and industrial needs.

The company operates through two primary segments: North America and Asia.