MQS Management LLC Acquires New Holdings in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS)

MQS Management LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 4,549 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $297,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth $66,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the first quarter valued at about $72,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 22.1% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,181 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth approximately $84,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AOS shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.29.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $68.86 on Tuesday. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 52 week low of $58.83 and a 52 week high of $92.45. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $66.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $9.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.20.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.05. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.39% and a net margin of 13.74%. The firm had revenue of $963.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $950.56 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.99%.

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.