Schroder Investment Management Group Grows Stock Position in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 88.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 292,516 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 137,570 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $21,281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AOS. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth about $208,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at approximately $281,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 44.0% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 319,113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $23,426,000 after acquiring an additional 97,531 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 129.4% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,633 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $120,000 after acquiring an additional 921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 4.6% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,508,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $184,182,000 after acquiring an additional 109,654 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 price objective on shares of A. O. Smith and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $77.00 price objective on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Friday, January 30th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $78.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.00.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $66.50 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 52 week low of $58.83 and a 52 week high of $81.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $74.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.33.

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

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were given 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 yield of 2.2%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 37.31%.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 1,104 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total value of $82,126.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,201 shares in the company, valued at $163,732.39. This represents a 33.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.