Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Acquires New Shares in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Key Points

• Lecap Asset Management Ltd. recently acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith Corporation, purchasing 27,755 shares valued at approximately $1,820,000 in the second quarter.
• A. O. Smith reported earnings of $1.07 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates by $0.10, though its revenue decreased by 1.3% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.34, representing a 1.9% yield and a payout ratio of 37.88%.

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 27,755 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,820,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 178,543 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $11,670,000 after purchasing an additional 15,769 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 41.6% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,089 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $463,000 after acquiring an additional 2,084 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 75.8% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 402,039 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $26,277,000 after acquiring an additional 173,366 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 18.3% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 8,085 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $528,000 after acquiring an additional 1,251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in A. O. Smith by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,532 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $73.17 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market cap of $10.25 billion, a PE ratio of 20.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.30. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 1 year low of $58.83 and a 1 year high of $88.54. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $72.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.18.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $997.89 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.06 earnings per share. A. O. Smith's quarterly 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 analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AOS shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.43.

Insider Activity

In other 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.76% of the stock is owned by company 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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