California Public Employees Retirement System Purchases 12,888 Shares of A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 5.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 236,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,888 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.17% of A. O. Smith worth $15,563,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 3,481.8% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 394 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 67.9% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 0.2%

AOS stock opened at $59.48 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.56. The business’s 50-day moving average is $58.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.68. A. O. Smith Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $54.16 and a fifty-two week high of $81.86.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.94 by ($0.09). A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 28.42%. The business had revenue of $945.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $974.06 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. A. O. Smith’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.600-3.900 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.74 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on AOS shares. Weiss Ratings lowered A. O. Smith from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Oppenheimer set a $75.00 price objective on A. O. Smith and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on A. O. Smith from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research cut shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $60.00 price target (down from $65.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, May 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $69.44.

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.