Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stake in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 9.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 178,543 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,769 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of A. O. Smith worth $11,670,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the first quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $84,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 40.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,299 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AOS has been the topic of several research reports. 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 report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $75.29.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

AOS stock traded up $0.60 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $67.84. The company had a trading volume of 665,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,299,894. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.01. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 1 year low of $58.83 and a 1 year high of $92.45. The company has a market capitalization of $9.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $66.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.61.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.05. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.74% and a return on equity of 28.39%. The business had revenue of $963.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $950.56 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% 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 firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.99%.

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.