Benjamin Edwards Inc. Has $7.42 Million Stake in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 27.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 101,087 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,019 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. owned about 0.07% of A. O. Smith worth $7,421,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the second quarter worth about $1,045,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the second quarter worth $386,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 1.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 13,906 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the second quarter valued at $2,837,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 13.3% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 72,417 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,748,000 after acquiring an additional 8,487 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AOS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 18th. Robert W. Baird set a $76.00 price objective on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $80.00 price objective on A. O. Smith and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.71.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 4.8%

AOS opened at $70.36 on Friday. A. O. Smith Corporation has a one year low of $58.83 and a one year 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 stock has a market cap of $9.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $66.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.21.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The industrial products company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm 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 firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.700-3.850 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 38.81%.

About A. O. Smith

A. O. Smith Corporation, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a leading manufacturer of water heating and water treatment products for residential and commercial applications. Since its founding in 1874, the company has built a reputation for producing reliable, energy-efficient water heaters, boilers and pressure vessels. Its product portfolio encompasses gas, electric, condensing and tankless water heaters, as well as specialty boilers designed to meet a variety of building and industrial needs.

The company operates through two primary segments: North America and Asia.