Yousif Capital Management LLC Sells 2,269 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Yousif Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 124,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,269 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.08% of A. O. Smith worth $10,231,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 4,101,386 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $271,225,000 after acquiring an additional 88,025 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,038,837 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $200,958,000 after acquiring an additional 133,339 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in A. O. Smith by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,577,789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $104,339,000 after buying an additional 112,600 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,343,402 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $88,839,000 after buying an additional 60,337 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,276,943 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $84,444,000 after buying an additional 11,132 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE AOS traded down $0.92 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $87.00. The stock had a trading volume of 1,235,226 shares, compared to its average volume of 959,171. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $63.88 and a 1 year high of $89.96. The stock has a market cap of $12.81 billion, a PE ratio of 23.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $85.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $988.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $985.89 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.45% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is currently 34.59%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Idelle K. Wolf sold 814 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $65,120.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,140 shares in the company, valued at $3,691,200. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other A. O. Smith news, Director Idelle K. Wolf sold 814 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $65,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 46,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,691,200. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 60,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.51, for a total transaction of $5,092,403.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,812,929.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 95,631 shares of company stock worth $8,042,535. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AOS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup upped their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.50.

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.