Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ Makes New $244,000 Investment in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $244,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 628.0% during the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 36.1% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 393.1% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 858 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares during the period. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter valued at about $66,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.50.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

AOS traded up $1.12 during trading on Thursday, reaching $87.58. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 439,726 shares, compared to its average volume of 947,335. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.00. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $63.88 and a 1 year high of $89.96. The company has a market cap of $12.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.37, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.25.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $988.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $985.89 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.45% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 34.59%.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In related news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 9,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $800,176.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 24,669 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.02, for a total value of $2,048,020.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 56,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,728,072.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total transaction of $836,990.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 9,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $800,176.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 95,631 shares of company stock worth $8,042,535. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Company 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.