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

A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 6,213,011 shares, a decline of 17.5% from the January 29th total of 7,526,575 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,521,884 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.1 days. Currently, 4.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Currently, 4.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,521,884 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.1 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AOS shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 price target on shares of A. O. Smith and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $85.00 price target on shares of A. O. Smith and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $69.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.00.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of A. O. Smith stock traded down $2.37 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $75.56. 79,973 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,340,814. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.50. A. O. Smith has a 52 week low of $58.83 and a 52 week high of $81.86. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.78. The company has a market cap of $10.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $912.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $928.97 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. A. O. Smith’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that A. O. Smith will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.31%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in 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 valued at $61,393,000 after acquiring an additional 154,201 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 64.4% in the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 28,832 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,891,000 after purchasing an additional 11,294 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 217.9% in the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.0% during the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28,117 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,844,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the second quarter worth about $672,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Company Profile

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.