Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Trims Stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc decreased its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 47.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 172,721 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 157,137 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned 0.12% of A. O. Smith worth $11,781,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AOS. Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 25,826 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,762,000 after buying an additional 1,390 shares in the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth approximately $123,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 329,436 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $22,471,000 after buying an additional 61,602 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 99.9% during the 4th quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 5,975 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 2,986 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 48.0% during the 4th quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 232,047 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $15,828,000 after buying an additional 75,281 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on AOS. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Saturday, May 10th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $76.17.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

A. O. Smith stock traded up $1.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $70.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,536,065 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,160,563. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12-month low of $58.83 and a 12-month high of $92.45. The company has a market capitalization of $10.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.42, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.55. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $65.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.65.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $963.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $950.56 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. A. O. Smith's revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.99%.

A. O. Smith Company 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.