Wasatch Advisors LP Decreases Position in AAON, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAON)

Wasatch Advisors LP lessened its stake in AAON, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAON - Free Report) by 15.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,577,285 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 289,461 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP owned about 1.94% of AAON worth $185,615,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AAON. Norges Bank bought a new position in AAON during the fourth quarter valued at about $76,581,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AAON during the fourth quarter worth $73,313,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of AAON by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,032,497 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $239,184,000 after acquiring an additional 274,119 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in AAON by 258.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 330,397 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $37,014,000 after purchasing an additional 238,308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC acquired a new stake in AAON during the 4th quarter worth $19,750,000. Institutional investors own 70.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AAON from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of AAON from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. CJS Securities raised AAON from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $110.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on AAON from $155.00 to $116.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $115.50.

AAON Trading Down 4.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAON traded down $3.44 on Monday, hitting $79.02. The company had a trading volume of 132,248 shares, compared to its average volume of 723,756. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.81 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 3.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $86.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $109.99. AAON, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.98 and a 1 year high of $144.07.

AAON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This is an increase from AAON's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. AAON's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.90%.

AAON announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, March 4th that allows the company to buyback $30.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to purchase up to 0.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AAON news, Director David Raymond Stewart acquired 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $80.86 per share, for a total transaction of $80,860.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $242,580. The trade was a 50.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 18.55% of the company's stock.

AAON Company Profile

AAON, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in engineering, manufacturing, marketing, and selling air conditioning and heating equipment in the United States and Canada. The company operates through three segments: AAON Oklahoma, AAON Coil Products, and BASX. It offers rooftop units, data center cooling solutions, cleanroom systems, chillers, packaged outdoor mechanical rooms, air handling units, makeup air units, energy recovery units, condensing units, geothermal/water-source heat pumps, coils, and controls.