A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Reaches New 12-Month Low on Insider Selling

A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $64.69 and last traded at $64.92, with a volume of 23296 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $65.97.

Specifically, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $67,356.90. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,562.85. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $27,507.35. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,471.85. The trade was a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. 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 report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday, February 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 1.9 %

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market capitalization of $9.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.17.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 37.47%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $96,180,000. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $386,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 24,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,692,000 after acquiring an additional 4,160 shares in the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 48.8% during the fourth quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 15,912 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,085,000 after acquiring an additional 5,218 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 251,819 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $17,275,000 after acquiring an additional 17,732 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.