A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Short Interest Update

A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,530,000 shares, a growth of 8.6% from the January 15th total of 4,170,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,190,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.8 days. Currently, 3.9% of the company’s shares are short sold.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE AOS traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $66.09. 179,547 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,410,111. The stock has a market cap of $9.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.20, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.74. A. O. Smith has a 1-year low of $64.55 and a 1-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.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts expect that A. O. Smith will post 3.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is currently 37.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AOS. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday, February 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.86.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In other news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at $180,471.85. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $67,356.90. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $583,562.85. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 242.8% during the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 627,282 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,787,000 after purchasing an additional 444,307 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 924.7% during the fourth quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 57,312 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,909,000 after purchasing an additional 51,719 shares in the last quarter. Sone Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,705,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 360.0% during the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 343,692 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $23,443,000 after purchasing an additional 268,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Twinbeech Capital LP bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter valued at about $11,433,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.