Versor Investments LP Has $377,000 Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Versor Investments LP reduced its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,400 shares during the quarter. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $377,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Colonial River Investments LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at $209,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at $209,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 25,991 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,335,000 after purchasing an additional 2,236 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at $240,000. Finally, Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 34,722 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,119,000 after acquiring an additional 2,776 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on AOS. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. DA Davidson cut shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.71.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 0.1 %

A. O. Smith stock opened at $73.03 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.02. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $72.62 and a fifty-two week high of $92.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $80.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.32.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82. The firm had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $960.36 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 30.09%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a positive change from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is currently 35.79%.

About A. O. Smith

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.