Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Sells 344 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund reduced its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 344 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $319,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Archer Investment Corp acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at $302,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 27.6% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,689 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $870,000 after purchasing an additional 2,096 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 6.7% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 17,721 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,592,000 after acquiring an additional 1,110 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 5.1% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 12.2% during the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,002 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $360,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

A. O. Smith Trading Down 1.0 %

AOS opened at $71.42 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $80.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.06. The company has a market cap of $10.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.17. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1-year low of $71.04 and a 1-year high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The business had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $960.36 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. Analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. This is a boost from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 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.