Brendel Financial Advisors LLC Sells 36,692 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Brendel Financial Advisors LLC trimmed its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 92.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,064 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 36,692 shares during the period. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sarasin & Partners LLP acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at about $78,766,000. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 3,852,467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $315,055,000 after purchasing an additional 400,304 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 92.4% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 761,410 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $68,397,000 after purchasing an additional 365,710 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,721,581 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $693,630,000 after purchasing an additional 299,766 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at about $24,060,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $71.28 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market capitalization of $10.34 billion, a PE ratio of 18.76, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $71.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.51. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $67.17 and a twelve month high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82. The company had revenue of $957.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $960.36 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 30.09%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AOS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup cut their price target on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, DA Davidson downgraded A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.14.

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.