Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Lowers Position in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its position in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 91.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 8,397 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 92,474 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $551,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Perpetual Ltd lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 34.8% during the second quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 141,606 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,285,000 after buying an additional 36,583 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.8% during the second quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 41,397 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,714,000 after buying an additional 1,501 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 30.4% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,246 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $628,000 after buying an additional 2,157 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 7.1% during the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,456 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reinhart Partners LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the second quarter valued at about $7,164,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AOS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday, September 13th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $76.00 price objective (up previously from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total transaction of $1,581,972.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 100,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,172,105.22. This trade represents a 18.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AOS opened at $72.48 on Friday. A. O. Smith Corporation has a twelve month low of $58.83 and a twelve month high of $92.06. The company’s 50 day moving average is $71.97 and its 200 day moving average is $68.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market cap of $10.16 billion, a PE ratio of 20.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.25.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.10. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.68% and a return on equity of 28.42%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $997.89 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.06 EPS. A. O. Smith’s quarterly 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, sell-side analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is 37.88%.

A. O. Smith Company 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.