A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Shares Purchased by Lafayette Investments Inc.

by · The Markets Daily

Lafayette Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS – Free Report) by 4.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,980 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,732 shares during the period. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $3,771,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the second quarter worth $27,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In related news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total value of $1,191,105.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $194,319. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:AOS traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $77.39. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 74,046 shares, compared to its average volume of 961,129. The firm has a market cap of $11.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $82.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.48. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $65.08 and a 1 year high of $92.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 14.41%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. Research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. This is an increase from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AOS shares. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. DA Davidson lowered shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group upgraded A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.71.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on AOS

About A. O. Smith

(Free Report)

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.

Featured Articles