Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Cuts Stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 69.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 100,871 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 228,565 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $6,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at about $66,000. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at about $84,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 40.4% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,571 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mufg Securities Americas Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at about $120,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.17.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AOS opened at $63.78 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $65.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.40. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $58.83 and a twelve month high of $92.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.06 billion, a PE ratio of 17.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.21.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $950.56 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 37.99%.

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.