Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Buys 37,741 Shares of A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 32.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 154,454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 37,741 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.11% of A. O. Smith worth $11,338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AOS. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,045,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter valued at about $386,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,265,091 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $82,952,000 after purchasing an additional 13,906 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,837,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth about $750,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AOS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 target price on A. O. Smith and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.50.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE:AOS opened at $72.45 on Friday. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 1-year low of $58.83 and a 1-year high of $77.31. The company has a 50-day moving average of $68.04 and a 200 day moving average of $69.62. The firm 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The industrial products company reported $0.94 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 business had revenue of $942.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $946.33 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

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