Element Capital Management LLC Purchases Shares of 40,507 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 purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 40,507 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $2,648,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.0% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its position in A. O. Smith by 67.3% in 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 buying an additional 2,086,433 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 307,201 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in 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 worth $178,587,000 after acquiring an additional 417,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in 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 worth $166,728,000 after acquiring an additional 236,880 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AOS traded down $0.2590 during trading on Thursday, reaching $71.5910. 238,524 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,540,300. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $10.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.22. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 52-week low of $58.83 and a 52-week high of $92.06. The company has a 50-day moving average of $68.77 and a 200-day moving average of $66.92.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $997.89 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.42% and a net margin of 13.68%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.06 EPS. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.700-3.900 EPS. Analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total transaction of $1,581,972.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 100,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,172,105.22. The trade was a 18.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on AOS shares. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on A. O. Smith in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $77.43.

About A. O. Smith

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.