FORA Capital LLC Sells 16,157 Shares of A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Key Points

• FORA Capital LLC cut its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation by 59.5%, now holding 10,990 shares valued at $718,000.
• Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares for over $1.58 million, reducing his holding by 18.07% to 100,647 shares.
• A. O. Smith reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.07, exceeding estimates, and has set its FY 2025 guidance between 3.700-3.900 EPS.

FORA Capital LLC reduced its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 59.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,990 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 16,157 shares during the quarter. FORA Capital LLC's holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,847 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,532 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group now owns 15,607 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,020,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 74.8% during the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 458 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $76.00 price target (up previously from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Monday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased 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. Oppenheimer increased their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, A. O. Smith has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $77.43.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 0.3%

AOS traded down $0.21 during trading on Monday, hitting $71.41. 886,395 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 992,705. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $70.01 and a 200 day moving average of $67.25. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 12-month low of $58.83 and a 12-month high of $92.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.25.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $997.89 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.06 EPS. The company'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. Equities research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.88%.

Insider Activity

In other A. O. Smith news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 100,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,172,105.22. This trade represents a 18.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by 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.