VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Purchases Shares of 47,240 A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 47,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,159,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 26.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 665,793 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $48,876,000 after buying an additional 139,117 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 1.8% in the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,082,982 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $152,912,000 after buying an additional 36,122 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 4.6% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,508,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $184,182,000 after buying an additional 109,654 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 19.9% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 273,216 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,057,000 after buying an additional 45,299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 2.1% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,871,694 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $137,393,000 after buying an additional 38,694 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:AOS opened at $57.91 on Friday. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 52-week low of $56.77 and a 52-week high of $81.86. The stock has a market cap of $7.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $64.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.37.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.94 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $945.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $974.06 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 28.42%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.600-3.900 EPS. Equities analysts predict that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AOS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $61.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $70.00 price objective on A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $67.00 price objective on A. O. Smith and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 1,104 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total transaction of $82,126.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $163,732.39. This trade represents a 33.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

About A. O. Smith

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.