Scientech Research LLC Acquires Shares of 15,150 A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Scientech Research LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 15,150 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $990,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the first quarter worth about $26,000. 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in 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 worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith in the first quarter worth approximately $64,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AOS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday, August 30th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $76.00 target price (up from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Monday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $77.43.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:AOS traded down $1.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $72.60. 766,673 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,029,460. The stock has a market cap of $10.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 12-month low of $58.83 and a 12-month high of $92.06. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $71.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.66.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $997.89 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.42% and a net margin of 13.68%.A. O. Smith's quarterly revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.06 earnings per share. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.700-3.900 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

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

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.