Advisors Preferred LLC Acquires Shares of 5,592 A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 5,592 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $379,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AOS. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 998.6% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,348,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $88,121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,521 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 438,291 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position 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 buying an additional 417,667 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the first quarter valued at about $26,211,000. Finally, Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the first quarter valued at about $26,223,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $65.63 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. A. O. Smith Corporation has a twelve month low of $58.83 and a twelve month high of $77.92. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $70.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.99. The firm has a market cap of $9.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.69, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.30.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The industrial products company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $946.33 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm 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 research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AOS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $80.00 price objective on A. O. Smith and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (up from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Citigroup lowered their price objective 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, Wall Street Zen raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, A. O. Smith has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.00.

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.