Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Has $2.07 Million Position in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS)

Key Points

• Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB has reduced its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation by 61.3%, selling 50,187 shares and now holding only 31,737 shares valued at approximately $2.07 million.
• A. O. Smith reported earnings per share of $1.07 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.97, despite a year-over-year revenue decline of 1.3%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.90%, to be paid on August 15th to stockholders of record on July 31st.

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lessened its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 61.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 31,737 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 50,187 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ's holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $2,074,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the first quarter valued at about $2,090,000. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 7.1% in the first quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 9,100 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $595,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 170.3% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 21,789 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,424,000 after buying an additional 13,728 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.7% in the first quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 8,852 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $579,000 after buying an additional 397 shares during the period. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the first quarter valued at about $1,687,000. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total value of $1,581,972.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 100,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,172,105.22. The trade was a 18.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

AOS traded down $0.75 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $70.05. 382,779 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,587,390. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.20. 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 Corporation has a one year low of $58.83 and a one year high of $92.06. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.84.

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

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 1.9%. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is 37.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.43.

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.