New York State Teachers Retirement System Grows Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Key Points

• New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 22.7% to 106,677 shares (about $7.14M), while institutional investors now own roughly 76.10% of the company.
• A. O. Smith missed quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.85 versus $0.94 expected and revenue of $945.6M versus $974.1M, and set FY2026 guidance of $3.60–$3.90 (consensus ~3.78 EPS).
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.36 per share (2.4% yield) and disclosed an insider sale by SVP Darrell W. Schuh of 1,104 shares (a 33.4% reduction); analysts hold a consensus "Hold" rating with a $70.44 target.

New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 22.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 106,677 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 19,712 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.08% of A. O. Smith worth $7,135,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AOS. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 3,125.0% in the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 387 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 67.9% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 487 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

A. O. Smith Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of AOS opened at $58.87 on Wednesday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $67.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.66, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 1-year low of $58.22 and a 1-year high of $81.86.

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

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is presently 38.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AOS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday. DA Davidson set a $67.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $75.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $70.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $70.44.

A. O. Smith Company Profile

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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