Headlands Technologies LLC Buys Shares of 2,945 A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,945 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth $66,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 40.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter valued at $123,000. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at $209,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AOS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.86.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $67,356.90. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,562.85. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,471.85. This represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of AOS stock opened at $61.92 on Friday. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $61.89 and a twelve month high of $92.45. The company has a market capitalization of $8.91 billion, a PE ratio of 17.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.40.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. Equities research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 37.47%.

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.