Navigation Group LLC Makes New $713,000 Investment in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Navigation Group LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 10,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $713,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its position in A. O. Smith by 3,481.8% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 394 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 67.9% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AOS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $60.00 price objective (down from $65.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Robert W. Baird set a $70.00 price objective on A. O. Smith in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $75.00 target price on A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson set a $67.00 target price on A. O. Smith and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $69.33.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $60.28 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $8.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.16. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 52-week low of $54.16 and a 52-week high of $81.86. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $58.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by ($0.09). A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 28.42%. The firm had revenue of $945.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $974.06 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. A. O. Smith’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.600-3.900 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.74 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.30%.

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.