Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Lowers Stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lessened its stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,765 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 450 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $1,280,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 19.8% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on AOS shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. 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 research report on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday, February 1st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AOS opened at $65.19 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $9.45 billion, a PE ratio of 17.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.17. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $64.94 and a twelve month high of $92.44. The company’s 50 day moving average is $69.85 and its 200 day moving average is $76.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.47%.

A. O. Smith 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.