FORA Capital LLC Invests $730,000 in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 8,130 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $730,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AOS. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 398.4% during the 1st 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 stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 19.8% in the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,969 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 657 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 11,663 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the 1st quarter valued at $1,495,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 222.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 25,255 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,259,000 after purchasing an additional 17,411 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AOS traded up $0.37 on Friday, hitting $74.47. The stock had a trading volume of 381,325 shares, compared to its average volume of 967,827. The company has a market capitalization of $10.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.67. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $79.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.53. A. O. Smith Co. has a twelve month low of $70.73 and a twelve month high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.82. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 14.41%. The business had revenue of $957.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $960.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. On average, equities 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. This is a boost from A. O. Smith's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is currently 35.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AOS. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson downgraded A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group upgraded A. O. Smith from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $86.71.

A. O. Smith Company 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.