Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $22.47 Million Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 23.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 329,436 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 61,602 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $22,471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AOS. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 214.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth $32,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE:AOS opened at $71.87 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.28. The stock has a market cap of $10.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.91, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.18. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1-year low of $67.17 and a 1-year high of $92.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $960.36 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AOS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson lowered shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group raised A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.14.

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.