IHT Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 30.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,679 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 864 shares during the quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 7.2% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,007 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $164,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 19.8% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 12.5% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,227 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $110,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 5.0% in the third quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 2,989 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 5.1% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

NYSE:AOS opened at $73.89 on Tuesday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52 week low of $70.73 and a 52 week high of $92.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market capitalization of $10.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $77.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.88.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 14.41%. The company had revenue of $957.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $960.36 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This is an increase from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is currently 35.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AOS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group raised A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. DA Davidson lowered A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Six 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.com, A. O. Smith presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.29.

A. O. Smith 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.