Berger Financial Group Inc Takes Position in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Key Points

• Berger Financial Group opened a new position in A. O. Smith during the first quarter, buying 81,929 shares valued at about $5.4 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with hedge funds and other large investors holding 76.10% of the company’s stock. Several firms, including Vanguard, State Street, and Invesco, also increased their stakes.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed to bearish: the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” with a consensus price target of $69.33. A. O. Smith also recently missed quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, though it continues to pay a 2.3% dividend yield.

Berger Financial Group Inc bought a new position in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 81,929 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $5,402,000. Berger Financial Group Inc owned about 0.06% of A. O. Smith at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AOS. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,096,018 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,009,622,000 after buying an additional 683,176 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,911,495 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $395,361,000 after buying an additional 458,257 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,559,612 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $304,947,000 after buying an additional 37,621 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,909,395 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $194,581,000 after acquiring an additional 101,453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 109,654 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson set a $67.00 price target on shares of A. O. Smith and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $75.00 price objective on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $61.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $60.00 target price (down from $65.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $75.00 price target on shares of A. O. Smith and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $69.33.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $62.69 on Friday. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 1 year low of $54.16 and a 1 year high of $81.86. The stock has a market cap of $8.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $59.27 and a 200 day moving average of $66.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by ($0.09). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.42% and a net margin of 13.84%.The business had revenue of $945.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $974.06 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. A. O. Smith's revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.600-3.900 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.30%.

A. O. Smith Company Profile

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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