Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Increases Holdings in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 20.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 84,256 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 14,587 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.06% of A. O. Smith worth $7,569,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Claro Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 7,967 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $716,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 103,734 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $9,318,000 after buying an additional 5,521 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 216,349 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $19,435,000 after buying an additional 17,017 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $302,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 27.6% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,689 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $870,000 after purchasing an additional 2,096 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group raised A. O. Smith from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. DA Davidson cut 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, A. O. Smith has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $86.71.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE AOS opened at $73.44 on Friday. 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 $70.73 and a twelve month high of $92.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.65 billion, a PE ratio of 19.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.17. The stock's 50 day moving average is $79.94 and its 200 day moving average is $81.85.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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 company had revenue of $957.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $960.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This is a positive change from A. O. Smith's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is currently 35.79%.

About A. O. Smith

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.