Legal & General Group Plc Sells 37,070 Shares of A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc reduced its stake in A. O. Smith by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 37,070 shares and leaving it with 488,248 shares valued at about $32.7 million.
• A. O. Smith reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.85 versus the $0.94 consensus and revenue of $945.6 million versus expectations of $974.1 million.
• The company recently paid a $0.36 quarterly dividend and now offers an annualized yield of 2.5%, while analysts’ outlook remains mixed with a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $69.89.

Legal & General Group Plc cut its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 488,248 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 37,070 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.35% of A. O. Smith worth $32,654,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 561.9% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 748 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 3,261 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. MQS Management LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth approximately $437,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the period. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth approximately $954,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 1,104 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total value of $82,126.56. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,201 shares in the company, valued at $163,732.39. This trade represents a 33.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AOS opened at $56.80 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $62.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.00. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 1 year low of $54.16 and a 1 year high of $81.86.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $945.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $974.06 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 28.42%. The business's revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.600-3.900 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AOS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $75.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research cut shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $61.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $69.89.

About A. O. Smith

A. O. Smith Corporation, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a leading manufacturer of water heating and water treatment products for residential and commercial applications. Since its founding in 1874, the company has built a reputation for producing reliable, energy-efficient water heaters, boilers and pressure vessels. Its product portfolio encompasses gas, electric, condensing and tankless water heaters, as well as specialty boilers designed to meet a variety of building and industrial needs.

The company operates through two primary segments: North America and Asia.

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