Caxton Associates LLP Acquires Shares of 47,442 A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Key Points

• Caxton Associates LLP invested approximately $3.10 million in A. O. Smith Corporation by purchasing 47,442 shares in the first quarter of the year.
• A. O. Smith's quarterly earnings exceeded estimates, reporting an EPS of $1.07, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.97.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $1.36 and a yield of 1.8%.

Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 47,442 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $3,101,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.1% during the first quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,847 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 3.3% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,532 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group now owns 15,607 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,020,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. National Pension Service raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 74.8% during the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 458 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 2.3%

AOS traded down $1.70 on Friday, hitting $72.60. 766,673 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,029,460. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 12 month low of $58.83 and a 12 month high of $92.06. The company has a market cap of $10.17 billion, a PE ratio of 20.22, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.65. The stock's fifty day moving average is $71.25 and its 200-day moving average is $67.65.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.10. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.42% and a net margin of 13.68%.The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $997.89 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.06 earnings per share. A. O. Smith's revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.700-3.900 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AOS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on A. O. Smith in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday, August 30th. Wall Street Zen raised A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $76.00 price objective (up from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.43.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total value of $1,581,972.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 100,647 shares in the company, valued at $7,172,105.22. This represents a 18.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

A. O. Smith Company 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.