Lido Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Lido Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 41.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,666 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $701,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,972 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management increased its position in A. O. Smith by 2.5% during the second quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 7,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $462,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 5.4% in the first quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 3,642 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $238,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 74.8% in the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 458 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 50.9% during the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 596 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AOS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Robert W. Baird set a $76.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $80.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.71.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

A. O. Smith stock opened at $68.03 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.34, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $67.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.70. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 1 year low of $58.83 and a 1 year high of $77.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.54.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The industrial products company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company 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 business’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. Sell-side analysts predict that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. This is an increase from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.81%.

A. O. Smith Profile

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.