Evergreen Capital Management LLC Acquires Shares of 28,878 A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Key Points

• Evergreen Capital Management opened a new position in A. O. Smith by buying 28,878 shares worth about $1.93 million; institutional and hedge funds now own roughly 76.1% of the stock.
• Analysts' consensus is a "Hold" with a $74.89 target (2 buys, 7 holds, 1 sell); notably Goldman Sachs cut its target to $61 and issued a "sell" rating while other firms' targets sit around $75–$78.
• A. O. Smith beat quarterly EPS estimates ($0.90 vs. $0.84) with flat year-over-year revenue and recently announced a $0.36 quarterly dividend (annualized yield ~2.2%, ex-dividend April 30).

Evergreen Capital Management LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 28,878 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,931,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its position in A. O. Smith by 3,125.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 387 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in A. O. Smith by 67.9% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 487 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AOS has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $61.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $78.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Robert W. Baird set a $77.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $74.89.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE:AOS opened at $64.82 on Thursday. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 1 year low of $62.14 and a 1 year high of $81.86. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $69.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.96 billion, a PE ratio of 16.79, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.35.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business posted $0.85 EPS. A. O. Smith's revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.98 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.31%.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In related news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 1,104 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $163,732.39. This trade represents a 33.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Company Profile

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AOS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.