A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS Stock Holdings Lifted by Nebula Research & Development LLC

Nebula Research & Development LLC increased its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 1,324.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 67,510 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 62,771 shares during the quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $4,427,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,045,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the second quarter worth $386,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 1.1% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,265,091 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $82,952,000 after purchasing an additional 13,906 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the second quarter valued at about $2,837,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in A. O. Smith by 64.4% in the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 28,832 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,891,000 after purchasing an additional 11,294 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AOS opened at $67.85 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $9.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.29, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $67.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, 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 $77.31.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The industrial products company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $942.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $946.33 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. A. O. Smith’s 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. Research 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. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AOS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup lowered their price target on A. O. Smith from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 18th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $80.00 price target on shares of A. O. Smith and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $76.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.71.

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.