Sanctuary Advisors LLC Invests $1.37 Million in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 16,488 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,372,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Aristides Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the second quarter worth approximately $249,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 649 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.4% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 13,844 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,132,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 214.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 7.2% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,007 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $164,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of AOS stock opened at $86.27 on Friday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52-week low of $65.08 and a 52-week high of $92.44. The stock has a market cap of $12.65 billion, a PE ratio of 22.35, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.70. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $82.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.07.

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

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. 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 yield of 1.58%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $97.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total value of $1,191,105.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $194,319. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

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.