Numerai GP LLC Invests $1.89 Million in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Numerai GP LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 27,671 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,887,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 25,826 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,762,000 after acquiring an additional 1,390 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 329,436 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $22,471,000 after purchasing an additional 61,602 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 99.9% during the 4th quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 5,975 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 2,986 shares during the period. Annex Advisory Services LLC raised its position in A. O. Smith by 48.0% during the 4th quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 232,047 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,828,000 after purchasing an additional 75,281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guinness Asset Management LTD lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 7,531 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $514,000 after buying an additional 1,082 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

AOS opened at $70.13 on Wednesday. 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 cap of $9.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.70. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12-month low of $58.83 and a 12-month high of $92.45.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. The firm had revenue of $963.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $950.56 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is 37.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reduced 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, January 31st. Oppenheimer cut 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.17.

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.