Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc Cuts Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc cut its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 20.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,743 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 14,718 shares during the period. A. O. Smith accounts for approximately 1.3% of Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc's holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $5,277,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 214.9% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. DA Davidson downgraded A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group upgraded A. O. Smith from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $84.29.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE:AOS traded down $0.91 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $72.98. The company had a trading volume of 953,138 shares, compared to its average volume of 967,723. The firm has a market cap of $10.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1-year low of $70.73 and a 1-year high of $92.44. The business's 50 day moving average price is $77.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.82. The company had revenue of $957.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 business earned $0.90 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 EPS 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 is a boost from A. O. Smith's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.79%.

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.