Quantbot Technologies LP Takes Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 9,467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $850,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AOS. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 11.6% in the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 3,852,467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $315,055,000 after purchasing an additional 400,304 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,302,659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $206,848,000 after purchasing an additional 87,458 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,046,798 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $167,387,000 after buying an additional 72,856 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,393,519 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $113,962,000 after buying an additional 66,933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in A. O. Smith by 1.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,194,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $97,708,000 after buying an additional 19,890 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird decreased 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 research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson downgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.71.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

A. O. Smith stock opened at $74.49 on Monday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $70.73 and a 1 year high of $92.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.67. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $79.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.41. The company has a market cap of $10.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.17.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.82. The company had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.34 dividend. This is a positive change from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is currently 35.79%.

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.