Chicago Capital LLC Makes New $314,000 Investment in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Key Points

• Chicago Capital LLC has made a new investment of $314,000 in A. O. Smith Corporation by acquiring 4,793 shares in the second quarter.
• A. O. Smith's recent earnings report showed $1.07 earnings per share, exceeding analyst expectations, with a revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.9%.

Chicago Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 4,793 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $314,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 67.3% during the first quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 5,188,561 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $339,124,000 after buying an additional 2,086,433 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 998.6% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,348,247 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $88,121,000 after buying an additional 1,225,521 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 1st quarter worth approximately $74,180,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 35.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,670,567 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $109,187,000 after acquiring an additional 438,291 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 62.3% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,088,103 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $71,118,000 after acquiring an additional 417,667 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AOS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on A. O. Smith in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $76.00 price target (up previously from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $77.43.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

AOS opened at $73.45 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 52-week low of $58.83 and a 52-week high of $90.15. The company has a 50 day moving average of $72.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.14. The company has a market cap of $10.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.25.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the company earned $1.06 EPS. The firm'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. On average, analysts expect that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 37.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 100,647 shares in the company, valued at $7,172,105.22. This represents a 18.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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