Empire Financial Management Company LLC Takes $1.36 Million Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Empire Financial Management Company LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 19,869 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,355,000.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $27,507.35. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $180,471.85. This represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $67,356.90. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $583,562.85. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on AOS shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective 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. StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup dropped their price target 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $76.50.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 3.9 %

Shares of NYSE:AOS traded up $2.54 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $67.32. 991,696 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,477,367. The company has a market cap of $9.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $65.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.45. 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 one year low of $58.83 and a one year high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. The company had revenue of $963.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $950.56 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is presently 37.47%.

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.