Short Interest in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Rises By 18.7%

A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) was the target of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,930,000 shares, an increase of 18.7% from the March 15th total of 3,310,000 shares. Approximately 3.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 945,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.2 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AOS shares. StockNews.com lowered A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup increased their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.67.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In other news, Director Idelle K. Wolf sold 814 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $65,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,691,200. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Idelle K. Wolf sold 814 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $65,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,691,200. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $800,176.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 95,631 shares of company stock valued at $8,042,535. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 628.0% during the third quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 36.1% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 393.1% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 858 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares during the period. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the second quarter worth approximately $66,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of AOS opened at $85.15 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.01, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.59. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $84.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.81. A. O. Smith has a 52 week low of $63.88 and a 52 week high of $89.96.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.01. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 14.45%. The business had revenue of $988.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $985.89 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.86 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that A. O. Smith will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.59%.

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.