Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. Raises Stake in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 35.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 62,970 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,370 shares during the quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $4,211,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AOS. Madison Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth about $80,885,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 54.2% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,208,831 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $235,560,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128,543 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,096,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,009,622,000 after purchasing an additional 683,176 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 655.5% during the 2nd 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. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 48.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,649,985 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $110,351,000 after purchasing an additional 537,920 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AOS has been the subject of a number of research reports. DA Davidson set a $67.00 target price on A. O. Smith and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $75.00 price target on A. O. Smith in a research report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $60.00 price target (down from $65.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Friday, May 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $61.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $69.89.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

A. O. Smith stock opened at $56.80 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $62.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.83 billion, a PE ratio of 15.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.56. A. O. Smith Corporation has a one year low of $54.16 and a one year 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 return on equity of 28.42% and a net margin of 13.84%.The company had revenue of $945.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $974.06 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.600-3.900 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is 38.30%.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In other news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 1,104 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total transaction of $82,126.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $163,732.39. This represents a 33.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.