FORA Capital LLC Has $1.85 Million Stock Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

FORA Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 233.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,147 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,017 shares during the quarter. FORA Capital LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $1,852,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in A. O. Smith by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,231,084 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $83,972,000 after buying an additional 12,305 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 27,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,898,000 after buying an additional 1,834 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 124.5% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,694 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $457,000 after buying an additional 3,712 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth about $7,015,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 122,726 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,371,000 after purchasing an additional 17,442 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on AOS. UBS Group cut their target price on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Thursday, April 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, A. O. Smith has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.17.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of AOS stock opened at $67.97 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $65.47 and a 200-day moving average of $68.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.28. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12-month low of $58.83 and a 12-month high of $92.45.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $963.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $950.56 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.99%.

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.