AQR Capital Management LLC Acquires 44,403 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 11.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 423,137 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 44,403 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.29% of A. O. Smith worth $28,862,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth $60,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth $66,000. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth $84,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in A. O. Smith by 40.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,299 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter valued at about $123,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on AOS. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $76.17.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 0.2 %

AOS stock traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $68.18. 278,102 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,143,697. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52 week low of $58.83 and a 52 week high of $92.45. The company has a market cap of $9.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.28. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $65.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $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.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $963.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $950.56 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.