Benjamin Edwards Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 6,682.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 77,387 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 76,246 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. owned 0.05% of A. O. Smith worth $6,951,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AOS. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,007 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $164,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,227 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $110,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 2,989 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of AOS stock opened at $74.65 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $79.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.38. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $70.73 and a twelve month high of $92.44. The company has a market capitalization of $10.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.82. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 14.41%. The company had revenue of $957.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $960.36 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This is an increase from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 35.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AOS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group raised A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson lowered A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock. in a research report 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 on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.71.

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.