From MarketBeat:

A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) experienced a 9.4% decline in short interest during December, with 2,420,000 shares sold short, equal to 2.0% of total shares. Wall Street analysts have adjusted their ratings and price targets for AOS, giving it a consensus rating of “Hold” and a target price of $74.38.

Insider transactions at A. O. Smith included VP James F. Stern selling 8,118 shares at an average price of $72.00, totaling $584,496. Director Idelle K. Wolf also sold 1,000 shares at $76.16 each, amounting to $76,160. Insiders have sold a total of 133,725 shares worth $9,686,543 in the last ninety days.

Hedge funds have been active with A. O. Smith, with HighTower Advisors LLC, MetLife Investment Management, LLC, and Dimensional Fund Advisors LP all increasing their stakes in the company. Institutional investors and hedge funds now own 74.48% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith’s stock opened at $82.44 on Tuesday, and the company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.11. The company will likely post 3.78 EPS for the current year, according to analyst predictions.

A. O. Smith recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, an increase from its previous dividend of $0.30. This represents an annualized dividend of $1.28 and a yield of 1.55%. The company’s payout ratio is 64.00%.

A. O. Smith Corporation manufactures and markets water heaters, boilers, tanks, and water treatment products. The company has a North America segment and Rest of the World segment, offering various products for residential and commercial use. AOS currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.38.



Read more: A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Short Interest Update