Willis Investment Counsel Has $13.95 Million Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Willis Investment Counsel raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 204,470 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 518 shares during the quarter. Willis Investment Counsel owned about 0.14% of A. O. Smith worth $13,947,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in 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 valued at $164,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 214.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.4% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 13,844 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,132,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in A. O. Smith by 2.6% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 25,904 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,119,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the second quarter worth about $1,372,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

AOS stock opened at $67.27 on Monday. A. O. Smith Co. has a one year low of $65.53 and a one year high of $92.44. The stock has a market cap of $9.75 billion, a PE ratio of 18.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

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

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. DA Davidson downgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Saturday, January 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.