XTX Topco Ltd Takes Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 5,836 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $524,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Quarry LP increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 214.9% during 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 A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AOS shares. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group raised A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.17.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

A. O. Smith stock opened at $72.48 on Friday. A. O. Smith Co. has a fifty-two week low of $70.73 and a fifty-two week high of $92.44. The company has a market capitalization of $10.51 billion, a PE ratio of 19.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $76.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.67.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.82. The business 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is an increase from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.79%.

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.