First Trust Advisors LP Boosts Holdings in AAON, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAON)

First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of AAON, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAON) by 85.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,069,112 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 493,219 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in AAON were worth $125,813,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AAON. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of AAON by 182.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 84,472 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $9,111,000 after purchasing an additional 54,535 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in AAON in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of AAON during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of AAON by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 13,534 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,460,000 after acquiring an additional 732 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in AAON by 258.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 330,397 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $37,014,000 after purchasing an additional 238,308 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on AAON shares. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of AAON from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. CJS Securities upgraded AAON from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on AAON from $155.00 to $116.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered AAON from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.50.

Insider Transactions at AAON

In related news, Director David Raymond Stewart purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $80.86 per share, for a total transaction of $80,860.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $242,580. This trade represents a 50.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 18.55% of the company’s stock.

AAON Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAON opened at $82.46 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 3.06, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. AAON, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.98 and a 12 month high of $144.07. The company has a market capitalization of $6.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.33 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $86.24 and its 200 day moving average is $109.99.

AAON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This is a boost from AAON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. AAON’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.90%.

AAON declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, March 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase $30.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to repurchase up to 0.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

About AAON

AAON, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in engineering, manufacturing, marketing, and selling air conditioning and heating equipment in the United States and Canada. The company operates through three segments: AAON Oklahoma, AAON Coil Products, and BASX. It offers rooftop units, data center cooling solutions, cleanroom systems, chillers, packaged outdoor mechanical rooms, air handling units, makeup air units, energy recovery units, condensing units, geothermal/water-source heat pumps, coils, and controls.