Heartland Advisors Inc. Raises Position in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS)

Heartland Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 60.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 166,151 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 62,572 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned 0.12% of A. O. Smith worth $10,860,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AOS. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 67.3% during the first quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 5,188,561 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $339,124,000 after purchasing an additional 2,086,433 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $96,180,000. Sarasin & Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the first quarter valued at approximately $74,180,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 26.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,704,295 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $320,880,000 after purchasing an additional 995,043 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 242.8% during the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 627,282 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,787,000 after purchasing an additional 444,307 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of AOS opened at $72.06 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. A. O. Smith Corporation has a twelve month low of $58.83 and a twelve month high of $92.06. The company has a market capitalization of $10.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $66.80 and a 200 day moving average of $66.76.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.10. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.68% and a return on equity of 28.42%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $997.89 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.06 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AOS shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.57.

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.