Caxton Associates LLP Trims Position in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Caxton Associates LLP trimmed its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 33.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 15,896 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $2,068,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,045,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter valued at $386,000. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter worth $2,837,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in A. O. Smith by 1.1% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,265,091 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $82,952,000 after acquiring an additional 13,906 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 64.4% during the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 28,832 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,891,000 after purchasing an additional 11,294 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $68.74 on Monday. A. O. Smith Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $58.83 and a fifty-two week high of $77.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.53, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $67.12 and a 200 day moving average of $68.74.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The industrial products company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $942.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $946.33 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 13.85%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.82 EPS. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.700-3.850 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share 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 given 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.