Inspire Investing LLC Has $1.13 Million Stock Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,533 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,155 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $1,128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AOS. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quarry LP boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 0.6 %

AOS opened at $71.36 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $67.17 and a twelve month high of $92.44. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.02.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82. The company had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $960.36 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 30.09%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. Analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 35.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. DA Davidson downgraded A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday, January 18th. UBS Group upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $88.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.14.

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.