Insider Selling: A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) SVP Sells 419 Shares of Stock

A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $27,507.35. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,471.85. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 0.4 %

A. O. Smith stock traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $65.97. The stock had a trading volume of 749,093 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,469,688. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12 month low of $64.94 and a 12 month high of $92.44. The company has a market capitalization of $9.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.17, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $69.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on AOS. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday, February 1st. StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer cut their target price on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.86.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth $37,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 19.8% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.