EP Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires New Stake in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 3,422 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AOS. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. National Pension Service raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 74.8% during the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 458 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 69.9% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 491 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 161.7% in the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 539 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the first quarter worth $64,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

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 shares were sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total value of $1,581,972.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 100,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,172,105.22. The trade was a 18.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of AOS opened at $72.00 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $70.94 and its 200 day moving average is $67.52. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 12-month low of $58.83 and a 12-month high of $92.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market cap of $10.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.25.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 EPS 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 during 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 quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.700-3.900 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on AOS shares. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday, August 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Two investment 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.