Stevens Capital Management LP Takes $214,000 Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 3,140 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth about $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth $82,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $66.39 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.29, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.23. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12 month low of $64.55 and a 12 month high of $92.45.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. Analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $27,507.35. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,471.85. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $67,356.90. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $583,562.85. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AOS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their target price on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Saturday. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.86.

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.