Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Stake in AAON, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAON)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AAON, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAON) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,239,482 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 75,832 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 7.68% of AAON worth $734,262,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AAON. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in AAON by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,868 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $455,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in AAON by 5,040.4% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 2,369 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of AAON by 691.1% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 24,666 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,903,000 after acquiring an additional 21,548 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its position in shares of AAON by 39.1% during the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 288,581 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $31,121,000 after acquiring an additional 81,111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wolverine Trading LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AAON in the third quarter valued at about $471,000. 70.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Raymond Stewart acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $80.86 per share, for a total transaction of $80,860.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $242,580. This represents a 50.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 18.55% of the company’s stock.

AAON Stock Performance

Shares of AAON stock opened at $78.08 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $99.75 and a 200 day moving average of $112.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.06 and a quick ratio of 1.79. AAON, Inc. has a 12 month low of $69.52 and a 12 month high of $144.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.40 and a beta of 1.00.

AAON declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, March 4th that permits the company to buyback $30.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to reacquire up to 0.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

AAON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This is a boost from AAON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. AAON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. CJS Securities raised shares of AAON from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on AAON from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on AAON from $155.00 to $116.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered AAON from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AAON has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.50.

AAON Company Profile

AAON, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in engineering, manufacturing, marketing, and selling air conditioning and heating equipment in the United States and Canada. The company operates through three segments: AAON Oklahoma, AAON Coil Products, and BASX. It offers rooftop units, data center cooling solutions, cleanroom systems, chillers, packaged outdoor mechanical rooms, air handling units, makeup air units, energy recovery units, condensing units, geothermal/water-source heat pumps, coils, and controls.