Centiva Capital LP Takes Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Centiva Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 30,639 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $2,090,000.

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

A. O. Smith Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of AOS traded up $1.50 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $69.79. The company had a trading volume of 220,532 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,146,420. The company's fifty day moving average price is $65.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.74. A. O. Smith Co. has a one year low of $58.83 and a one year high of $92.45. The company has a market capitalization of $10.05 billion, a PE ratio of 19.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.05. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. The company had revenue of $963.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $950.56 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. 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 Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is 37.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Saturday. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group reduced their price target on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, A. O. Smith presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $76.17.

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.