Cardinal Capital Management Takes Position in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Key Points

• Cardinal Capital Management opened a new position of 19,923 A. O. Smith shares (~$1.33M) in Q4, joining other institutional buyers such as Vanguard and American Century as institutions now own 76.1% of the company.
• Earnings update: A. O. Smith beat EPS estimates ($0.90 vs. $0.84) but slightly missed revenue expectations ($912.5M vs. $929M), while reporting a 14.3% net margin and 29.5% return on equity.
• Dividend and market view: The firm declared a $0.36 quarterly dividend (annual $1.44, yield 2.3%, ex-dividend Apr 30), trades at a P/E of ~16.6 with an $8.83B market cap, and holds an average analyst rating of Hold with a $74.89 price target.

Cardinal Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 19,923 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,332,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,096,018 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,009,622,000 after purchasing an additional 683,176 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 4,850,158 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $356,050,000 after acquiring an additional 157,856 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 54.2% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,208,831 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $235,560,000 after buying an additional 1,128,543 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,508,947 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $184,182,000 after buying an additional 109,654 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,082,982 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $152,912,000 after acquiring an additional 36,122 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 1.3%

AOS opened at $63.87 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $68.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.04. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 1-year low of $62.14 and a 1-year high of $81.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.35.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.06. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 29.51%. The business had revenue of $912.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $928.97 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. The business's revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 1,104 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total value of $82,126.56. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at $163,732.39. This trade represents a 33.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AOS shares. Wall Street Zen cut A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 target price on A. O. Smith and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $77.00 price objective on A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $78.00 price objective on A. O. Smith and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $61.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $74.89.

About A. O. Smith

A. O. Smith Corporation, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a leading manufacturer of water heating and water treatment products for residential and commercial applications. Since its founding in 1874, the company has built a reputation for producing reliable, energy-efficient water heaters, boilers and pressure vessels. Its product portfolio encompasses gas, electric, condensing and tankless water heaters, as well as specialty boilers designed to meet a variety of building and industrial needs.

The company operates through two primary segments: North America and Asia.

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