Truist Financial Corp Acquires 16,334 Shares of A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 15.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 122,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,334 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp owned 0.09% of A. O. Smith worth $8,183,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AOS. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 19.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 939,302 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $61,393,000 after purchasing an additional 154,201 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 78.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 963 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the second quarter valued at $5,212,000. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 11.4% during the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 211,176 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,847,000 after acquiring an additional 21,657 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 165.3% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 32,874 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,156,000 after acquiring an additional 20,485 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 1,104 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total value of $82,126.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 2,201 shares in the company, valued at $163,732.39. This represents a 33.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AOS. DA Davidson set a $67.00 price target on A. O. Smith and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $75.00 price target on A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $61.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 price target on A. O. Smith and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.44.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $58.61 on Friday. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 1 year low of $58.22 and a 1 year high of $81.86. The business has a 50-day moving average of $66.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.77. The company has a market capitalization of $8.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.94 by ($0.09). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.42% and a net margin of 13.84%.The business had revenue of $945.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $974.06 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.600-3.900 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is 38.30%.

A. O. Smith Company Profile

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.