A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,270,000 shares, a decrease of 7.6% from the June 30th total of 3,540,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 928,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days. Approximately 2.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AOS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $97.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.67.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE:AOS traded down $2.50 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $82.54. 860,196 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 963,017. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.38, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $83.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.70. A. O. Smith has a twelve month low of $64.14 and a twelve month high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.01 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that A. O. Smith will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In related news, Director Ronald D. Brown 3,631 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 8.1% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 199,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,301,000 after purchasing an additional 15,004 shares in the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith in the second quarter valued at $638,000. Summit Financial LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith in the second quarter valued at $213,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 25.1% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 22,117 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,809,000 after purchasing an additional 4,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 2.5% in the second quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 29,766 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,434,000 after purchasing an additional 733 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.10% 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.