Golden State Equity Partners Sells 1,578 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Golden State Equity Partners lessened its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 19.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,382 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,578 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners’ holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $435,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,007 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 214.9% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 13,844 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 25,904 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,119,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,372,000. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AOS opened at $67.07 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $9.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12-month low of $65.53 and a 12-month high of $92.44. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.04.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AOS. UBS Group reduced their target price on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. DA Davidson downgraded A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, A. O. Smith presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.