Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC reduced its stake in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,868 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,206 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AOS. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.1% in the first quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,847 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $382,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,532 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group now owns 15,607 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,020,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 3,642 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $238,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 74.8% during the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 458 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total transaction of $1,581,972.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 100,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,172,105.22. This trade represents a 18.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AOS opened at $71.44 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 1 year low of $58.83 and a 1 year high of $87.88. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.34. The firm has a market cap of $10.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.30.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $997.89 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.06 earnings per share. A. O. Smith’s quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.700-3.900 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AOS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on A. O. Smith in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer raised 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. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $76.00 price objective (up from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.43.

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.