IMS Capital Management Reduces Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

IMS Capital Management trimmed its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 13.2% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,595 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,160 shares during the period. IMS Capital Management’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 665.0% during the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares during the period. Twin Tree Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 188.9% in the 1st quarter. Twin Tree Management LP now owns 737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 1,566 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 25.5% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 961 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 1st quarter valued at about $109,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AOS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $97.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.67.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In related news, Director Ronald D. Brown 3,631 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 0.2 %

AOS traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $82.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,106,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,227,818. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $64.14 and a fifty-two week high of $92.44. The stock has a market cap of $12.02 billion, a PE ratio of 21.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s 50-day moving average is $83.48 and its 200-day moving average is $83.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released 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). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.04% and a net margin of 14.67%. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

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

A. O. Smith 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.