PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 40.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 37,509 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,727 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $2,473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 19.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 939,302 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $61,393,000 after purchasing an additional 154,201 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 78.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 963 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the second quarter worth $5,212,000. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 11.4% in the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 211,176 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,847,000 after buying an additional 21,657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 165.3% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 32,874 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,156,000 after buying an additional 20,485 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 3.4%

Shares of AOS opened at $61.85 on Thursday. A. O. Smith Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $54.16 and a fifty-two week high of $81.86. The firm has a market cap of $8.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.45, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $59.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.56.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.94 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $945.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $974.06 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 28.42%. A. O. Smith’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.74 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on AOS. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $61.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Oppenheimer set a $75.00 price target on A. O. Smith and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered A. O. Smith from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $70.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $68.62.

A. O. Smith Company Profile

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.