Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Has $6.44 Million Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL cut its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 5.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 72,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,000 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $6,441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 665.0% during the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the period. Twin Tree Management LP lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 188.9% in the 1st quarter. Twin Tree Management LP now owns 737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,566 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 25.5% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 961 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 1st quarter worth approximately $109,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AOS. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of 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 issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, A. O. Smith presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.29.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AOS traded up $2.32 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $84.50. The company had a trading volume of 1,149,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,120,774. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $83.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market cap of $12.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.15. 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 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 analysts’ expectations of $1 billion. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.04% and a net margin of 14.67%. A. O. Smith’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

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

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.