Truvestments Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 618 A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AOS. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 398.4% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,417 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,932 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 19.8% during the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,969 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 119.8% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,914,000 after purchasing an additional 11,663 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the first quarter worth about $702,000. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the first quarter worth about $1,495,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AOS opened at $74.09 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.50, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.17. A. O. Smith Co. has a 52 week low of $70.73 and a 52 week high of $92.44. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $79.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.63.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82. The firm 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 last year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. This is an increase from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. DA Davidson lowered 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. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group raised A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.71.

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.