Choreo LLC Buys Shares of 4,151 A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS)

Key Points

• Choreo LLC has acquired 4,151 shares of A. O. Smith Corporation, valued at approximately $271,000, marking a new investment in the company during the 1st quarter.
• Several large investors have increased their stakes in A. O. Smith, with the Teachers Retirement System of Kentucky raising its position by an impressive 4,238.7%.
• A. O. Smith recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.07, beating analyst expectations, despite a slight revenue decline of 1.3% year-over-year.

Choreo LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 4,151 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $271,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth approximately $66,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the 1st quarter worth approximately $72,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 22.1% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,181 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth approximately $84,000. Finally, South Dakota Investment Council purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $92,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AOS has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $76.00 target price (up previously from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $77.43.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In related news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total transaction of $1,581,972.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 100,647 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,172,105.22. The trade was a 18.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE AOS traded down $0.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $70.41. 1,262,954 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,593,591. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 1-year low of $58.83 and a 1-year high of $92.06. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $66.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.01 billion, a PE ratio of 19.61, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.65.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.10. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.68% and a return on equity of 28.42%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $997.89 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.06 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is 37.88%.

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.