A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS Holdings Increased by IFG Advisory LLC

Key Points

• IFG Advisory LLC boosted its A. O. Smith stake by 54.4% in the fourth quarter, buying 17,792 additional shares and bringing its total to 50,474 shares valued at about $3.38 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on AOS remains cautious: analysts have issued a mix of ratings, with a consensus “Reduce” and an average price target of $69.89. Recent target cuts came from JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup.
• A. O. Smith reported weak quarterly results, with EPS of $0.85 missing estimates and revenue of $945.6 million also below expectations; the stock was trading near $57.60 and the company continued paying a quarterly dividend of $0.36 per share.

IFG Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 54.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,474 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 17,792 shares during the quarter. IFG Advisory LLC's holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $3,376,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AOS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 26.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 665,793 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $48,876,000 after purchasing an additional 139,117 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,082,982 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $152,912,000 after acquiring an additional 36,122 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,508,947 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $184,182,000 after acquiring an additional 109,654 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 273,216 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $20,057,000 after acquiring an additional 45,299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,871,694 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $137,393,000 after acquiring an additional 38,694 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AOS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $60.00 target price (down from $65.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup decreased their target price on A. O. Smith from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $70.00 price target on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $69.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 1,104 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total value of $82,126.56. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $163,732.39. This represents a 33.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 0.7%

AOS stock opened at $57.60 on Friday. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 52-week low of $54.16 and a 52-week high of $81.86. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $62.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by ($0.09). A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 28.42%. The firm had revenue of $945.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $974.06 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.600-3.900 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.30%.

A. O. Smith 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.

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