Fox Run Management L.L.C. Purchases 8,645 Shares of A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Fox Run Management L.L.C. grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 43.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,578 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 8,645 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $1,874,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AOS. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in A. O. Smith by 998.6% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,348,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $88,121,000 after buying an additional 1,225,521 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 35.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,670,567 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $109,187,000 after acquiring an additional 438,291 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 62.3% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,088,103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $71,118,000 after acquiring an additional 417,667 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the first quarter valued at $26,211,000. Finally, Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 1st quarter worth about $26,223,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AOS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 18th. Citigroup lowered their target price on A. O. Smith from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $76.00 target price (up from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Monday, July 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.00.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $66.18 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $70.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.99. A. O. Smith Corporation has a one year low of $58.83 and a one year high of $77.31. The stock has a market cap of $9.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.54.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 29.34%. The firm had revenue of $942.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $946.33 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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. Equities analysts expect that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

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

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.