Southeast Asset Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Southeast Asset Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 30,114 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,375 shares during the quarter. Southeast Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $2,054,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth $60,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at about $66,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth approximately $123,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at $201,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AOS has been the subject of several research reports. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Saturday, March 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $61.92 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $66.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.33. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $60.43 and a fifty-two week high of $92.45. The firm has a market cap of $8.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.47%.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In related news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $27,507.35. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,471.85. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $583,562.85. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

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.