USS Investment Management Ltd Makes New Investment in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Key Points

• USS Investment Management Ltd acquired 26,666 shares of A. O. Smith Corporation, valued at approximately $1,742,000, indicating a growing interest from institutional investors in the company.
• Analysts have set varying target prices for A. O. Smith, with a consensus target of $77.43, reflecting a mix of "buy," "hold," and "neutral" ratings.
• A. O. Smith recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, representing an annual yield of 1.8% and showcasing the company's commitment to returning value to shareholders.

USS Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 26,666 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,742,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AOS. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 27,307 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,863,000 after buying an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 738,103 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $50,346,000 after buying an additional 132,923 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 392,463 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $26,770,000 after buying an additional 55,848 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 107.7% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,606 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $382,000 after buying an additional 2,907 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 150.2% during the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 55,617 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,794,000 after buying an additional 33,387 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total value of $1,581,972.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 100,647 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,172,105.22. The trade was a 18.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AOS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on A. O. Smith in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $77.43.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 2.3%

A. O. Smith stock traded down $1.70 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $72.60. 766,673 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,005,215. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market cap of $10.17 billion, a PE ratio of 20.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.25. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.10. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.42% and a net margin of 13.68%.The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $997.89 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.06 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.700-3.900 EPS. Research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

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

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.