FourThought Financial Partners LLC Buys Shares of 23,821 A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

FourThought Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 23,821 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,562,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 143.7% during the 2nd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 446 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 44,400.0% during the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 74.8% during the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 458 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 69.9% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 491 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

AOS stock opened at $64.10 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $8.92 billion, a PE ratio of 17.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $68.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.89. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 12-month low of $58.83 and a 12-month high of $77.31.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The industrial products company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.05. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 13.85%.The company had revenue of $942.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $946.33 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.82 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.700-3.850 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This is an increase from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 38.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on AOS. Wall Street Zen raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 18th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Robert W. Baird set a $76.00 target price on A. O. Smith in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $76.00 price target (up previously from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Monday, July 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.71.

About A. O. Smith

A. O. Smith Corporation manufactures and markets residential and commercial gas and electric water heaters, boilers, heat pumps, tanks, and water treatment products in North America, China, Europe, and India. The company offers water heaters for residences, restaurants, hotels, office buildings, laundries, car washes, and small businesses; boilers for hospitals, schools, hotels, and other large commercial buildings, as well as homes, apartments, and condominiums; and water treatment products comprising point-of-entry water softeners, well water solutions, and whole-home water filtration products, and point-of-use carbon and reverse osmosis products for residences, restaurants, hotels, and offices.