Kentucky Retirement Systems Lowers Stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 5.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,328 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $834,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 665.0% in the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares during the period. Twin Tree Management LP increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 188.9% in the 1st quarter. Twin Tree Management LP now owns 737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 1,566 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 25.5% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 961 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 1st quarter valued at about $109,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $97.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup lifted their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.67.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

NYSE:AOS traded up $0.43 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $84.93. 349,766 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 953,837. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52-week low of $64.14 and a 52-week high of $92.44. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $83.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $12.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.15.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1 billion. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.04% and a net margin of 14.67%. A. O. Smith’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.16%.

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.