A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS Stock Position Lifted by Korea Investment CORP

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP increased its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation by 3.3%, owning approximately 116,208 shares valued at $7,595,000.
• A. O. Smith reported earnings of $1.07 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, while total revenue reached $1.01 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, representing a 1.8% yield with a payout ratio of 37.88%.

Korea Investment CORP raised its holdings in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 116,208 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,703 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.08% of A. O. Smith worth $7,595,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 74.8% during the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 458 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 69.9% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 491 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 161.7% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 539 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 1st quarter valued at $64,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 1st quarter valued at $72,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total transaction of $1,581,972.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AOS shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.43.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AOS traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $72.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 637,699 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,524,257. A. O. Smith Corporation has a one year low of $58.83 and a one year high of $92.06. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $69.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.12. 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 company has a market cap of $10.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.22.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.10. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.68% and a return on equity of 28.42%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $997.89 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.06 earnings per share. The firm's 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. On average, equities research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

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

About A. O. Smith

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.