Cinctive Capital Management LP Buys 66,729 Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

Cinctive Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) by 710.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 76,125 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 66,729 shares during the period. Cinctive Capital Management LP’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $6,838,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter valued at $228,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in A. O. Smith by 222.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 25,255 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,259,000 after acquiring an additional 17,411 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the second quarter worth about $4,127,000. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the first quarter worth about $1,495,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 37.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 185,768 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,409,000 after purchasing an additional 50,798 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE AOS opened at $74.49 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $10.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $79.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.41. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1 year low of $70.73 and a 1 year high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The company 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 firm earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 EPS 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. 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 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This is a boost from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AOS has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note 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. 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 research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut 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. Finally, UBS Group upgraded A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, A. O. Smith currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.71.

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.