Pembroke Management LTD Increases Stock Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Pembroke Management LTD boosted its stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS – Get Rating) by 15.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 465,697 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 63,209 shares during the quarter. A. O. Smith makes up about 2.9% of Pembroke Management LTD’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Pembroke Management LTD’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $26,656,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AOS. Wipfli Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter valued at about $87,000. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at about $66,000. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 48.7% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,721 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at about $142,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.01% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 2.8 %

AOS stock traded down $1.90 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $65.47. The company had a trading volume of 2,484,188 shares, compared to its average volume of 969,974. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The company has a market capitalization of $9.88 billion, a PE ratio of 43.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $64.88 and a 200 day moving average of $58.75. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12 month low of $46.58 and a 12 month high of $71.87.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $936.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $913.51 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 6.28% and a return on equity of 27.54%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 31st were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 30th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael M. Larsen bought 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $66.89 per share, for a total transaction of $267,560.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 11,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $764,218.25. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 39,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.02, for a total transaction of $2,776,882.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,196 shares in the company, valued at $2,783,699.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael M. Larsen acquired 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $66.89 per share, for a total transaction of $267,560.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 11,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $764,218.25. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 57,883 shares of company stock worth $4,053,126 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AOS shares. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 1st. Loop Capital cut shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $67.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 20th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price target for the company from $65.00 to $58.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.00.

A. O. Smith Profile

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A. O. Smith Corp. manufactures residential and commercial gas and electric water heaters, boilers, tanks, and water treatment products. It operates through the North America and Rest of World segments. The North America segment manufactures and markets comprehensive lines of residential and commercial gas and electric water heaters, boilers, and tanks.