A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS Shares Purchased by 1832 Asset Management L.P.

Key Points

• 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in A. O. Smith Corporation by 11%, bringing its ownership to over 1 million shares valued at approximately $67.4 million.
• Several institutional investors, including the National Pension Service and TCTC Holdings LLC, have significantly boosted their positions in A. O. Smith, implying growing confidence in the company's outlook.
• A. O. Smith recently reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings with an EPS of $1.07, surpassing estimates, while also announcing a quarterly dividend yielding 1.8%.

1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 11.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,031,847 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 102,050 shares during the quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. owned approximately 0.73% of A. O. Smith worth $67,442,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,232,276 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $84,053,000 after purchasing an additional 31,937 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 31,511 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,149,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 127.0% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,732 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $459,000 after purchasing an additional 3,766 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 212.1% in the 4th quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 10,622 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $725,000 after purchasing an additional 7,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 29,518 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,009,000 after purchasing an additional 1,435 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of AOS stock traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $72.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,111,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,525,824. The company has a 50 day moving average of $69.47 and a 200 day moving average of $67.12. The stock has a market cap of $10.15 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 12-month low of $58.83 and a 12-month high of $92.06.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $997.89 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.68% and a return on equity of 28.42%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.06 EPS. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.700-3.900 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is currently 37.88%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total value of $1,581,972.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 100,647 shares in the company, valued at $7,172,105.22. The trade was a 18.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Thursday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (up previously from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.43.

A. O. Smith Profile

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.