A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Sold by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 89.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 544 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,707 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $49,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Quarry LP lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 214.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group upgraded A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 26th. Finally, DA Davidson downgraded shares of 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.71.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE:AOS opened at $75.93 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market cap of $11.01 billion, a PE ratio of 19.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.17. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $70.30 and a fifty-two week high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82. The company had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $960.36 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 30.09%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. This is an increase from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 35.79%.

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.