Sone Capital Management LLC Purchases New Stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Sone Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 39,658 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $2,705,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at $84,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 40.0% in the 4th 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. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth $120,000. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth $209,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AOS shares. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Saturday, May 10th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $76.17.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of AOS stock opened at $70.51 on Monday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12-month low of $58.83 and a 12-month high of $92.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $65.68 and a 200-day moving average of $68.51. The company has a market capitalization of $10.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.28.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.05. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. The firm had revenue of $963.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $950.56 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.99%.

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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