A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS Shares Purchased by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 242,291 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 11,733 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $16,204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 3,261 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Grey Ledge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Grey Ledge Advisors LLC now owns 8,966 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $600,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Eukles Asset Management lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Eukles Asset Management now owns 29,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,956,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 642 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 17.3% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,130 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE:AOS opened at $57.22 on Friday. 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. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.33. The stock has a market cap of $7.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.18.

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 business had revenue of $945.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $974.06 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. The company’s revenue 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, sell-side analysts predict that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on AOS shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $75.00 price objective on A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research cut A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and set a $60.00 price objective (down from $65.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings cut A. O. Smith from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $70.00 price target on A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $69.89.

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.