Russell Investments Group Ltd. Trims Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. has reduced its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation by 19.9%, selling 31,393 shares during the first quarter, now holding approximately 0.09% of the company.
• A. O. Smith recently reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and generating $1.01 billion in revenue, although down 1.3% from the same period last year.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, which yields 1.9% and reflects a dividend payout ratio of 37.88%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its holdings in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 19.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 126,002 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 31,393 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.09% of A. O. Smith worth $8,236,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 69.9% during 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. Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the first quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 22.1% during 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. South Dakota Investment Council bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the first quarter valued at approximately $92,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 40.4% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,571 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE AOS traded down $1.0170 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $72.5930. The company's stock had a trading volume of 624,989 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,149,077. 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 business's 50 day moving average is $69.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.08. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 12-month low of $58.83 and a 12-month high of $92.06. The firm has a market cap of $10.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.22.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 28.42% and a net margin of 13.68%.The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $997.89 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.06 earnings per share. The company'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, equities research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In other news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chairman directly owned 100,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on 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 increased their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $76.00 price target (up from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on A. O. Smith in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $77.43.

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.