Natixis Advisors LLC Grows Stake in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation by 28.4% during the first quarter, now owning 257,832 shares valued at approximately $16.85 million.
• A. O. Smith recently reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' expectations and had a revenue of $1.01 billion, although it represented a 1.3% decline year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, with an upcoming payment date of August 15th, reflecting a 1.9% dividend yield.

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 28.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 257,832 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 56,956 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.18% of A. O. Smith worth $16,852,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its position in A. O. Smith by 69.9% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 491 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the first quarter worth approximately $72,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 22.1% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,181 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth approximately $84,000. Finally, South Dakota Investment Council acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 1st quarter valued at $92,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AOS. 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 research note on Monday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on A. O. Smith in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $77.43.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 100,647 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,172,105.22. This represents a 18.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of A. O. Smith stock traded down $0.02 on Tuesday, hitting $70.32. The company had a trading volume of 1,132,638 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,706,257. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $67.13 and a 200-day moving average of $66.76. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 1 year low of $58.83 and a 1 year high of $92.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.22. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $997.89 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.42% and a net margin of 13.68%. The firm's revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.06 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

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

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.