A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Purchased by Cadence Bank

Cadence Bank boosted its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 18.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,938 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,394 shares during the period. Cadence Bank’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $803,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 214.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $74.09 on Thursday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52-week low of $70.73 and a 52-week high of $92.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $79.64 and a 200-day moving average of $81.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.74 billion, a PE ratio of 19.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.17. 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 (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 the consensus estimate of $0.82. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The company had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $960.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate 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 dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This is a boost from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is currently 35.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AOS has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. DA Davidson cut shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of 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. UBS Group raised 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 note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.71.

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.