Seaport Res Ptn Research Analysts Lift Earnings Estimates for A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Seaport Res Ptn boosted their Q3 2024 earnings per share estimates for A. O. Smith in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday, April 14th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst S. Graham now expects that the industrial products company will post earnings of $0.99 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $0.91. The consensus estimate for A. O. Smith's current full-year earnings is $4.10 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for A. O. Smith's Q4 2024 earnings at $1.02 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.07 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.12 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $4.42 EPS.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $988.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $985.89 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 14.45%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.86 EPS.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com cut A. O. Smith from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $88.50.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:AOS traded up $1.06 on Wednesday, hitting $86.46. 1,686,671 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 954,911. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.25. A. O. Smith has a 52 week low of $63.88 and a 52 week high of $89.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.59. The company's 50-day moving average price is $84.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AOS. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 17,210 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,093,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 21.4% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 35,713 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,282,000 after acquiring an additional 6,288 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 17,584 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,123,000 after acquiring an additional 867 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 4,351 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $278,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,145,799 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $73,218,000 after acquiring an additional 20,616 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 24,669 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.02, for a total value of $2,048,020.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 56,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,728,072.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 24,669 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.02, for a total value of $2,048,020.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,728,072.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $800,176.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,631 shares of company stock valued at $8,042,535 in the last ninety days. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.59%.

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.