Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Buys 211,866 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 362.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 270,285 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 211,866 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $18,436,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at $66,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth $123,000. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth about $209,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. Finally, Citigroup decreased 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of AOS stock opened at $61.92 on Friday. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52-week low of $61.89 and a 52-week high of $92.45. The business’s fifty day moving average is $66.60 and its 200 day moving average is $72.47. 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 company has a market capitalization of $8.91 billion, a PE ratio of 17.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 37.47%.

Insider Activity

In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the firm’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 owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at $583,562.85. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,471.85. The trade was a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith 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.