Hsbc Holdings PLC Has $19.61 Million Position in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC reduced its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation by 27.9%, now holding $19.61 million worth of around 300,146 shares after selling 116,272 shares during the first quarter.
• Institutional investors own 76.10% of A. O. Smith, with several firms like Envestnet Asset Management and Principal Financial Group increasing their positions significantly in the same quarter.
• A. O. Smith reported a net margin of 13.68% and exceeded analysts' earnings expectations in its latest quarterly results, but experienced a 1.3% year-over-year revenue decline.

Hsbc Holdings PLC lowered its position in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 27.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 300,146 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 116,272 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.21% of A. O. Smith worth $19,610,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,232,276 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $84,053,000 after purchasing an additional 31,937 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 31,511 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,149,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 127.0% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,732 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $459,000 after purchasing an additional 3,766 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 29,518 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,009,000 after purchasing an additional 1,435 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 47.2% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,716 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 1,513 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AOS traded down $0.86 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $71.57. The stock had a trading volume of 557,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,521,322. The business's fifty day moving average is $69.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.15. 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 cap of $10.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.94, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.22. A. O. Smith Corporation has a twelve month low of $58.83 and a twelve 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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $997.89 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.42% and a net margin of 13.68%.A. O. Smith's revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.06 earnings per share. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.700-3.900 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In related news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 100,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,172,105.22. This represents a 18.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AOS. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $76.00 target price (up previously from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Oppenheimer upped their target price 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.