Fisher Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 3.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,302,659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 87,458 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned about 1.59% of A. O. Smith worth $206,848,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 214.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AOS shares. UBS Group upgraded A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. DA Davidson cut A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.71.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of AOS stock opened at $75.43 on Tuesday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $70.73 and a 1 year high of $92.44. The stock has a market cap of $10.94 billion, a PE ratio of 19.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.17. The business’s fifty day moving average is $79.81 and its 200-day moving average is $81.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.67.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.82. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 14.41%. The company had revenue of $957.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $960.36 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. Equities analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This is a positive change from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.79%.

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.