A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Short Interest Up 11.3% in September

A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,470,000 shares, a growth of 11.3% from the August 31st total of 2,220,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 963,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days. Currently, 2.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 1.4 %

AOS traded up $1.28 on Friday, hitting $90.59. The company had a trading volume of 1,631,341 shares, compared to its average volume of 944,538. The firm has a market cap of $13.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.47, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.15. A. O. Smith has a 1 year low of $64.86 and a 1 year high of $92.44. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $82.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1 billion. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.67% and a return on equity of 31.04%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that A. O. Smith will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.16%.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total transaction of $1,191,105.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $194,319. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of A. O. Smith

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AOS. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Cim LLC increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 4.3% during the second quarter. Cim LLC now owns 40,779 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,175,000 after purchasing an additional 1,668 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the second quarter worth about $1,372,000. Aristides Capital LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the second quarter worth about $249,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 2.6% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 25,904 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,119,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on AOS. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $97.00 to $98.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.67.

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.