A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,530,000 shares, an increase of 8.6% from the January 15th total of 4,170,000 shares. Approximately 3.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,190,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.8 days.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE AOS opened at $66.22 on Tuesday. A. O. Smith has a twelve month low of $64.55 and a twelve month high of $92.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.55. The stock has a market cap of $9.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.24, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $68.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.74.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. Equities analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith will post 3.77 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 37.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer dropped 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. UBS Group dropped their target price on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday, February 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.86.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the business’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 transaction of $67,356.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,562.85. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the business’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 directly owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,471.85. The trade was a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,726,000. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at $730,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,586,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $321,348,000 after acquiring an additional 52,593 shares in the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 89.3% during the 3rd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 36,206 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,252,000 after acquiring an additional 17,079 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,302,659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $206,848,000 after acquiring an additional 87,458 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About A. O. Smith

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.