A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

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

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AOS traded up $0.66 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $67.70. 525,791 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,463,460. A. O. Smith has a 1 year low of $65.53 and a 1 year high of $92.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 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. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $70.55 and a 200 day moving average of $77.04.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (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 forecast that A. O. Smith will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 37.47%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 214.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson cut A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group cut their target price on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Saturday. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus 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.