Annex Advisory Services LLC Reduces Stock Position in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Key Points

• Annex Advisory Services LLC has significantly reduced its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation by 70.4% during the second quarter, selling 7,475 shares and now holding only 3,141 shares.
• Despite this reduction, other institutional investors have increased their stakes, with Envestnet Asset Management boosting its holdings by 75.8% during the same period.
• A. O. Smith reported an earnings per share of $1.07 for the latest quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, while planning for a FY 2025 guidance of 3.700-3.900 EPS.

Annex Advisory Services LLC cut its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 70.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,141 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 7,475 shares during the period. Annex Advisory Services LLC's holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 178,543 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $11,670,000 after purchasing an additional 15,769 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 41.6% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,089 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 2,084 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 75.8% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 402,039 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $26,277,000 after purchasing an additional 173,366 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 18.3% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 8,085 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 1,251 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,532 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of AOS stock opened at $72.30 on Tuesday. 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 $10.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.25. The company's fifty day moving average price is $71.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.92.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $997.89 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.68% and a return on equity of 28.42%. The company's revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.06 EPS. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.700-3.900 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In related news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the business'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 owned 100,647 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,172,105.22. This represents a 18.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on AOS shares. Robert W. Baird raised 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. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $76.00 target price (up previously from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.43.

A. O. Smith Profile

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.

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