Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC trimmed its position in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 186,648 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 19,198 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned about 0.13% of A. O. Smith worth $12,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AOS. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the first quarter worth about $26,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 143.7% in the second quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 446 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 263 shares during the period. National Pension Service raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 196 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 202 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 333 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on AOS. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (up previously from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Monday, July 28th. 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 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.43.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

AOS stock opened at $73.38 on Friday. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 52 week low of $58.83 and a 52 week high of $88.41. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.30.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $997.89 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.68% and a return on equity of 28.42%. A. O. Smith’s quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.06 earnings per share. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.700-3.900 EPS. 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. Stockholders 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 currently 37.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In other news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the business’s 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 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 the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

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.