Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Takes Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,864 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $332,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at about $60,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at $66,000. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth about $84,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at about $123,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of AOS stock traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $68.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 728,933 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,150,022. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $58.83 and a fifty-two week high of $92.45. The company has a market capitalization of $9.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.80, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.28. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $65.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.74.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $963.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $950.56 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.00 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is presently 37.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on AOS. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Saturday. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $76.17.

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.