AlphaQuest LLC Sells 15,573 Shares of A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

AlphaQuest LLC trimmed its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 31.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,472 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 15,573 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $2,239,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 3,125.0% during the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 387 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 3,481.8% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 394 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth $33,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AOS shares. 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 A. O. Smith and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup dropped their target price on A. O. Smith from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $70.00 price target on A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $69.89.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $58.32 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market cap of $8.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.51, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 12 month low of $54.16 and a 12 month high of $81.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $62.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.84.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its 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). The business had revenue of $945.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $974.06 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.42% and a net margin of 13.84%.The firm’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.600-3.900 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued 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 payout ratio is 38.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In other news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 1,104 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total transaction of $82,126.56. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 2,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $163,732.39. The trade was a 33.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.