Janus Henderson Group PLC Acquires 5,900 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 72.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,003 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,900 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $1,258,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in A. O. Smith by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,007 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 19.8% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,227 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 2,989 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in A. O. Smith by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on AOS shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson cut shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.17.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $72.48 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.51 billion, a PE ratio of 19.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $70.73 and a twelve month high of $92.44. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.60.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 14.41%. The company had revenue of $957.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $960.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. This is a positive change from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is currently 35.79%.

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.