A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,150,000 shares, a growth of 6.7% from the December 31st total of 3,890,000 shares. Currently, 3.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,060,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.9 days.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE:AOS traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $66.96. 762,186 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,474,294. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.17. A. O. Smith has a 12-month low of $65.53 and a 12-month high of $92.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.55. The business has a 50-day moving average of $70.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.04.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. On average, equities analysts forecast that A. O. Smith will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.47%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sarasin & Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at $78,766,000. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,648,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $112,467,000 after purchasing an additional 471,990 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in A. O. Smith by 92.4% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 761,410 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $68,397,000 after purchasing an additional 365,710 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,721,581 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $693,630,000 after buying an additional 299,766 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth about $24,060,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AOS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three 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 a consensus price target of $80.86.

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.