Paradoxiom Capital L.P. Buys 32,490 Shares of A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Key Points

• Paradoxiom Capital L.P. increased its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation by 42.9%, now owning 108,191 shares valued at approximately $7.07 million, making it the firm's 8th largest holding.
• Several institutional investors, including Envestnet Asset Management Inc., raised their stakes significantly during the same quarter, with Envestnet increasing its position by 75.8%.
• A. O. Smith reported earnings of $1.07 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates, and has set its FY 2025 guidance between 3.700 to 3.900 EPS.

Paradoxiom Capital L.P. boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 42.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 108,191 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 32,490 shares during the period. A. O. Smith makes up about 4.6% of Paradoxiom Capital L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Paradoxiom Capital L.P. owned approximately 0.08% of A. O. Smith worth $7,071,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AOS. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the first quarter valued at $26,000. National Pension Service raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 74.8% in the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 458 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 69.9% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 491 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position 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 worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 1st quarter valued at about $64,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AOS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on A. O. Smith in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $76.00 price target (up previously from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Monday, July 28th. 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday, August 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Two research 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.43.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AOS traded up $1.89 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $74.38. 1,673,128 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,510,678. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market cap of $10.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.56. A. O. Smith Corporation has a twelve month low of $58.83 and a twelve month high of $92.06.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.06 EPS. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.700-3.900 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.88%.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In other news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total transaction of $1,581,972.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 100,647 shares in the company, valued at $7,172,105.22. This trade represents a 18.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.