Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Lowers Stake in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Key Points

• The Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio reduced its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter, now holding 43,807 shares worth approximately $2.87 million.
• Analysts have issued mixed ratings on A. O. Smith, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price averaging $77.43, though some firms have raised their price targets recently.
• A. O. Smith announced a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, yielding 1.9% annually, with a payout ratio of 37.88%.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lowered its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,807 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,594 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $2,872,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. IMS Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter valued at $349,000. Revisor Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,106 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $570,000 after buying an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. GSB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter valued at $686,000. Foster Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter valued at $343,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,221 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on AOS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their target price 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. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $76.00 target price (up previously from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $77.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total transaction of $1,581,972.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 100,647 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,172,105.22. This trade represents a 18.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $73.17 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $10.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.03. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 1 year low of $58.83 and a 1 year high of $88.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $72.12 and a 200 day moving average of $68.18.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $997.89 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.06 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

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

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.

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