A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Director Kevin Wheeler Sells 14,675 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Director Kevin Wheeler sold 14,675 A. O. Smith shares for about $963,267 at an average price of $65.64, reducing his direct stake by 10.26% to 128,348 shares.
• A. O. Smith reported quarterly EPS of $0.93, beating estimates of $0.90, while revenue of $940.5 million fell short of forecasts and declined 0.2% year over year. The company raised its quarterly dividend from $0.36 to $0.38 per share.
• Analysts’ consensus rating was “Reduce,” with a $66 average price target; the stock fell 2.9% on Friday to $64.66.

A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) Director Kevin Wheeler sold 14,675 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.64, for a total value of $963,267.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 128,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,424,762.72. The trade was a 10.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 2.9%

AOS traded down $1.91 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $64.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 719,092 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,588,427. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 52-week low of $54.16 and a 52-week high of $81.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $59.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $8.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.96, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.03.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.03. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 27.66%. The business had revenue of $940.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $960.20 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. The company's revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. This is a positive change from A. O. Smith's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is currently 42.34%.

Institutional Trading of A. O. Smith

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 0.5% in the first quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 35,267 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,326,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,660 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $175,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 4,528 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. now owns 3,372 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 12,408 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $778,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AOS shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $59.00 target price on A. O. Smith and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, October 18th. Longbow Research lowered A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Weiss Ratings upgraded A. O. Smith from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on A. O. Smith from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Zacks Research cut A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $66.00.

About A. O. Smith

A. O. Smith Corporation is a manufacturer of water heating and water treatment products for residential, commercial and industrial customers. Its portfolio includes gas and electric storage water heaters, tankless water heaters, boilers, heat pump water heaters, water filtration systems, water softeners and reverse-osmosis products.

The company markets products under the A. O. Smith brand and other regional brands, serving applications ranging from homes and apartments to hotels, hospitals, schools, manufacturing facilities and other commercial properties.

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