A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS Shares Sold by GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd

Key Points

• GUARDCAP Asset Management cut its A. O. Smith stake by 38.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 37,901 shares and leaving it with 60,555 shares valued at about $4.14 million.
• Wall Street sentiment is cautious: recent analyst actions included lower price targets and a Weiss Ratings downgrade, with the stock carrying an average “Reduce” rating and an average target price of $69.89.
• A. O. Smith missed earnings expectations in its latest quarter, posting $0.85 EPS on $945.6 million in revenue versus estimates of $0.94 EPS and $974.06 million in revenue; the company also declared a $0.36 quarterly dividend.

GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd decreased its position in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 38.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,555 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 37,901 shares during the quarter. A. O. Smith comprises approximately 0.1% of GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd's holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $4,142,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 26.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 665,793 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $48,876,000 after buying an additional 139,117 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.8% in the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,082,982 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $152,912,000 after buying an additional 36,122 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.6% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,508,947 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $184,182,000 after buying an additional 109,654 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 19.9% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 273,216 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $20,057,000 after buying an additional 45,299 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.1% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,871,694 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $137,393,000 after buying an additional 38,694 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AOS shares. Citigroup cut their price objective on A. O. Smith from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. DA Davidson set a $67.00 target price on A. O. Smith and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings downgraded A. O. Smith from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $75.00 target price on A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $70.00 target price on A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $69.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 1,104 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total transaction of $82,126.56. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $163,732.39. The trade was a 33.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $56.80 on Friday. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 12 month low of $54.16 and a 12 month high of $81.86. The company has a market cap of $7.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.65.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $945.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $974.06 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.600-3.900 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is presently 38.30%.

About A. O. Smith

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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