A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Sold by Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB trimmed its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 18,765 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 450 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $1,280,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AOS. Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 12.5% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,227 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. 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. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.3% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 3,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 0.5 %

AOS opened at $65.19 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.45 billion, a PE ratio of 17.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.55. A. O. Smith Co. has a one year low of $64.94 and a one year high of $92.44. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $69.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.51.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AOS shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Saturday, February 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.86.

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.