Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Buys 20,426 Shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS)

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation by 22.6% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 20,426 shares worth approximately $7.2 million.
• Analysts have raised their target prices for A. O. Smith, with Stifel Nicolaus and Oppenheimer setting new targets of $81.00 and $88.00 respectively, while the stock currently has an average consensus price target of $77.43.
• A. O. Smith's latest quarterly earnings report showed $1.07 earnings per share, exceeding analyst estimates and indicating a 13.68% net margin despite a year-over-year revenue decline of 1.3%.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC grew its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 22.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 110,647 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 20,426 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.08% of A. O. Smith worth $7,232,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 178,543 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $11,670,000 after acquiring an additional 15,769 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 41.6% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,089 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 2,084 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 75.8% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 402,039 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $26,277,000 after purchasing an additional 173,366 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 18.3% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 8,085 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 1,251 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,532 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price 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. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $76.00 target price (up from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Oppenheimer increased their target price 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on A. O. Smith in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $77.43.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of AOS opened at $72.18 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.22. A. O. Smith Corporation has a twelve month low of $58.83 and a twelve month high of $92.06. The company has a 50 day moving average of $68.35 and a 200-day moving average of $66.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

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

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In other news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total value of $1,581,972.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 100,647 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,172,105.22. This represents a 18.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

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.

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