Cetera Investment Advisers Boosts Holdings in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,483 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,184 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $1,737,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AOS. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 998.6% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,348,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $88,121,000 after buying an additional 1,225,521 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 35.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,670,567 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $109,187,000 after acquiring an additional 438,291 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 62.3% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,088,103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $71,118,000 after purchasing an additional 417,667 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 1st quarter worth $26,211,000. Finally, Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the first quarter worth $26,223,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AOS opened at $65.98 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.19 billion, a PE ratio of 17.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $68.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.80. A. O. Smith Corporation has a twelve month low of $58.83 and a twelve month high of $77.31.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The industrial products company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.05. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 29.34%. The company had revenue of $942.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $946.33 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.82 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.700-3.850 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This is a boost from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $80.00 price objective on shares of A. O. Smith and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.71.

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.