Stevens Capital Management LP Takes $647,000 Position in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 9,872 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $647,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 143.7% during the second quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 446 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 74.8% in the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 458 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 69.9% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 491 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on AOS shares. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $80.00 price target on A. O. Smith and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Wall Street Zen raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.71.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of AOS opened at $65.21 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $68.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.89. The company has a market capitalization of $9.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.30. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 52-week low of $58.83 and a 52-week high of $77.31.

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 the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $946.33 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.82 earnings per share. The firm’s 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. Research analysts predict that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. This is a positive change from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. A. O. Smith’s 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.