A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS Stake Lessened by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 90.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,783 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 64,925 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $498,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter worth about $91,939,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 54.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,080,288 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $136,405,000 after purchasing an additional 732,041 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 655.5% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 710,716 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,602,000 after purchasing an additional 616,638 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 521.1% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 581,070 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,101,000 after purchasing an additional 487,513 shares during the period. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its position in A. O. Smith by 171.6% during the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 667,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,778,000 after purchasing an additional 421,845 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AOS shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 18th. 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 report on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $80.00 price target on A. O. Smith and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.50.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

AOS opened at $72.45 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $10.09 billion, a PE ratio of 19.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $68.04 and a 200-day moving average of $69.62. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 52-week low of $58.83 and a 52-week high of $77.31.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The industrial products company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $942.50 million during 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 revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.82 EPS. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.700-3.850 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.81%.

A. O. Smith Profile

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.