Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV Has $5.90 Million Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV reduced its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 6.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 65,899 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,655 shares during the period. A. O. Smith makes up about 0.7% of Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $5,895,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 961 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 52.4% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the period. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the period. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter worth $147,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AOS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.67.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

A. O. Smith stock traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $81.39. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 181,688 shares, compared to its average volume of 918,509. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1-year low of $64.14 and a 1-year high of $89.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $83.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.38. The company has a market cap of $11.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.96, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.15.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $978.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $995.91 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.94% and a return on equity of 30.94%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.08 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 29th. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 33.16%.

About A. O. Smith

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.