Vest Financial LLC Acquires 76,710 Shares of A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 9.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 896,860 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 76,710 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $58,807,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 52.7% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $839,000 after buying an additional 4,414 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 20,957 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,374,000 after buying an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 43,644 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,862,000 after buying an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,804 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $577,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 111 Capital boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 214.7% in the 2nd quarter. 111 Capital now owns 15,736 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,032,000 after purchasing an additional 10,735 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.43.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total value of $1,581,972.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 100,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,172,105.22. The trade was a 18.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of AOS stock opened at $67.68 on Monday. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 12-month low of $58.83 and a 12-month high of $83.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $72.09 and a 200-day moving average of $68.40.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.10. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.42% and a net margin of 13.68%.The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $997.89 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.06 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.700-3.900 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

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.