2,979 Shares in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Bought by Quest Partners LLC

Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $268,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Quarry LP lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 214.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AOS shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson lowered A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.71.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $73.91 on Wednesday. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $79.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.72. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52 week low of $70.73 and a 52 week high of $92.44. The company has a market cap of $10.72 billion, a PE ratio of 19.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.17.

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

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

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

A. O. Smith Company 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.