Quest Partners LLC Makes New $268,000 Investment in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 2,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $268,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. S&CO Inc. bought a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at about $215,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 20.9% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 84,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,569,000 after purchasing an additional 14,587 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 7,967 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $716,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 103,734 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,318,000 after buying an additional 5,521 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 216,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $19,435,000 after buying an additional 17,017 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $73.91 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $79.81 and a 200-day moving average of $81.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.45, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12 month low of $70.73 and a 12 month high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 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 firm had revenue of $957.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $960.36 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is an increase from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AOS has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group upgraded A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. 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. Finally, DA Davidson cut shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.71.

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.