Empowered Funds LLC Has $10.42 Million Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 1,477.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 152,792 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 143,103 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned approximately 0.11% of A. O. Smith worth $10,422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth $32,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at about $60,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of AOS opened at $65.19 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $69.85 and a 200-day moving average of $76.51. A. O. Smith Co. has a one year low of $64.94 and a one year high of $92.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $9.45 billion, a PE ratio of 17.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.17.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on AOS shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, DA Davidson lowered A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.86.

About A. O. Smith

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.