Fisher Asset Management LLC Reduces Position in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Fisher Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 97.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 40,144 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,786,000 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $2,632,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 42.4% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 105,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,926,000 after acquiring an additional 31,527 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 26.2% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 29,411 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,922,000 after acquiring an additional 6,103 shares in the last quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 11.3% in the first quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 6,324 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $413,000 after acquiring an additional 640 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 2.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,404,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $941,462,000 after acquiring an additional 286,316 shares during the period. Finally, ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the 1st quarter worth about $653,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AOS shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $76.00 target price on A. O. Smith in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.71.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of AOS stock opened at $68.03 on Friday. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 12-month low of $58.83 and a 12-month high of $77.31. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market cap of $9.47 billion, a PE ratio of 18.34, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.34.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The industrial products company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.05. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 13.85%.The firm had revenue of $942.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $946.33 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. The business’s quarterly 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. Analysts expect that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. This is a positive change 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%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 38.81%.

A. O. Smith Company 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.