Cadence Bank Acquires New Stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Cadence Bank bought a new position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 7,544 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $675,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AOS. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the first quarter worth approximately $245,000. Shell Asset Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 86.3% during the 1st quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 9,091 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $813,000 after acquiring an additional 4,211 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 1st quarter valued at $201,000. Arjuna Capital grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 28,116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,515,000 after acquiring an additional 1,048 shares during the period. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 589.6% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 12,075 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,080,000 after purchasing an additional 10,324 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 2.9 %

AOS stock traded up $2.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $84.54. 1,149,759 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 958,061. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.70. The business has a 50 day moving average of $83.59 and a 200-day moving average of $83.82. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52-week low of $64.14 and a 52-week high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1 billion. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.04% and a net margin of 14.67%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.01 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on AOS shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $97.00 to $98.00 in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup raised their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.29.

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.