Element Capital Management LLC Takes Position in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Key Points

• Element Capital Management LLC invested approximately $2.65 million in A. O. Smith Corporation, acquiring 40,507 shares in the first quarter of the year.
• Several institutional investors have increased their stakes in A. O. Smith, reflecting growing confidence in the company's performance, with overall institutional ownership now at 76.10%.
• A. O. Smith recently reported earnings of $1.07 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, though revenue was down 1.3% compared to the previous year.

Element Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 40,507 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $2,648,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,404,259 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $941,462,000 after purchasing an additional 286,316 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 67.3% during the 1st quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 5,188,561 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $339,124,000 after purchasing an additional 2,086,433 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,011,496 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $327,551,000 after purchasing an additional 307,201 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 19.0% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,618,191 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $178,587,000 after purchasing an additional 417,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,444,338 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $166,728,000 after buying an additional 236,880 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 0.9%

AOS stock traded down $0.6840 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $72.1360. The company had a trading volume of 468,593 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,546,182. 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 company has a market capitalization of $10.11 billion, a PE ratio of 20.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $68.64 and a 200 day moving average of $66.89. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 12 month low of $58.83 and a 12 month high of $92.06.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for 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 for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.06 EPS. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.700-3.900 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.88%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chairman directly owned 100,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,172,105.22. This trade represents a 18.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed 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. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $76.00 target price (up from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.