Insider Selling: A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) SVP Sells $82,126.56 in Stock

A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) SVP Darrell Schuh sold 1,104 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total transaction of $82,126.56. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $163,732.39. The trade was a 33.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:AOS opened at $71.08 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.41, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.94. A. O. Smith Corporation has a one year low of $58.83 and a one year high of $81.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $73.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.83.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.06. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 29.51% and a net margin of 14.26%.The company had revenue of $912.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $928.97 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. A. O. Smith’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is currently 37.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AOS. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $69.00 price target on A. O. Smith and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $78.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 price objective on shares of A. O. Smith and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AOS. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 3,261 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Grey Ledge Advisors LLC increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Grey Ledge Advisors LLC now owns 8,966 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $600,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Eukles Asset Management increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Eukles Asset Management now owns 29,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,956,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 642 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Founders Financial Alliance LLC lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 5,607 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $375,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About A. O. Smith

A. O. Smith Corporation, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a leading manufacturer of water heating and water treatment products for residential and commercial applications. Since its founding in 1874, the company has built a reputation for producing reliable, energy-efficient water heaters, boilers and pressure vessels. Its product portfolio encompasses gas, electric, condensing and tankless water heaters, as well as specialty boilers designed to meet a variety of building and industrial needs.

The company operates through two primary segments: North America and Asia.