Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Purchases New Position in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Key Points

• Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. acquired 203,377 shares of A. O. Smith Corporation, valued at approximately $13.3 million, representing 0.14% ownership of the company.
• Brokerages have updated their target prices for A. O. Smith, with Oppenheimer raising theirs from $82 to $88 and UBS increasing theirs to $76, reflecting a generally positive outlook.
• A. O. Smith declared a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, with a total annualized dividend yield of 1.9%, and reported earnings that beat analysts' expectations for the latest quarter.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 203,377 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $13,293,000. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. owned about 0.14% of A. O. Smith as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AOS. National Pension Service increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 74.8% in the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 458 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 69.9% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 491 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 161.7% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 539 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in A. O. Smith in the first quarter valued at about $72,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 22.1% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,181 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AOS shares. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $76.00 target price (up previously from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Monday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Oppenheimer boosted 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 target on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, A. O. Smith has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $77.43.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In related news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were 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 approximately $7,172,105.22. This trade represents a 18.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 2.8%

NYSE AOS traded up $2.0050 during trading on Friday, reaching $73.7550. 256,413 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,535,370. A. O. Smith Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $58.83 and a fifty-two week high of $92.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.34 billion, a PE ratio of 20.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $68.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.95.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.10. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.42% and a net margin of 13.68%.The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $997.89 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.06 EPS. The business'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. Sell-side analysts predict that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is presently 37.88%.

A. O. Smith Company 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.