Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 97,803 Shares of A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 91.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,703 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 97,803 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $574,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AOS. Norges Bank bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at about $97,101,000. Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth approximately $80,885,000. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 220.4% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,022,299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $68,371,000 after acquiring an additional 703,186 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 683,176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in A. O. Smith by 93.2% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,279,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $85,563,000 after acquiring an additional 617,179 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE AOS opened at $62.69 on Friday. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 1 year low of $54.16 and a 1 year high of $81.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $8.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $59.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.50.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by ($0.09). A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 28.42%. The firm had revenue of $945.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $974.06 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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, equities research analysts predict that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on AOS. Zacks Research lowered A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $70.00 price objective on A. O. Smith in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $75.00 target price on A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, May 1st. DA Davidson set a $67.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $61.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $69.33.

A. O. Smith Company 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.