Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Invests $1.59 Million in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 23,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,586,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AOS. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at $60,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

NYSE AOS opened at $65.50 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $76.73. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52-week low of $64.94 and a 52-week high of $92.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

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

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AOS shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Saturday, February 1st. DA Davidson downgraded A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.86.

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.