Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Takes $9.41 Million Position in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 143,523 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,411,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd owned 0.10% of A. O. Smith at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 143.7% in the 2nd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 446 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. National Pension Service grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 74.8% in the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 458 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 69.9% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 491 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 161.7% in the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 539 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $68.91 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $9.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $71.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.83. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 1-year low of $58.83 and a 1-year high of $78.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $997.89 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.42% and a net margin of 13.68%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.06 earnings per share. Analysts predict that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This is a positive change from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AOS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 18th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $76.00 price target (up from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In other news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total transaction of $1,581,972.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 100,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,172,105.22. The trade was a 18.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith 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.