ING Groep NV Buys New Holdings in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

ING Groep NV bought a new stake in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 14,652 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $980,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at about $97,101,000. Madison Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at about $80,885,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in A. O. Smith by 54.2% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,208,831 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $235,560,000 after buying an additional 1,128,543 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in A. O. Smith by 220.4% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,022,299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $68,371,000 after buying an additional 703,186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in A. O. Smith by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,096,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,009,622,000 after buying an additional 683,176 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $60.00 price objective (down from $65.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, May 15th. Zacks Research lowered A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $70.00 price objective on A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $75.00 price objective on A. O. Smith and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $69.33.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of AOS opened at $57.33 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $60.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.25. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 52 week low of $54.16 and a 52 week high of $81.86.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its 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). The business had revenue of $945.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $974.06 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 28.42%. The business’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.600-3.900 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

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

Trending Headlines about A. O. Smith

Here are the key news stories impacting A. O. Smith this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research maintained a Strong Sell rating on A. O. Smith, which can weigh on investor confidence. New Strong Sell Stocks for June 10th
• Negative Sentiment: The firm lowered FY2026 EPS to $3.76 from $3.79, and cut Q2 2026, Q4 2026, and Q1 2027 estimates slightly, signaling softer near-term earnings expectations for the water-heater and plumbing products company.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent estimate cuts also covered Q4 2026 and FY2028, suggesting analysts see only modest earnings growth ahead despite AOS already trading below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks did nudge up its Q3 2027 and Q4 2027 EPS estimates, but the increases were small and likely not enough to offset the broader negative rating and near-term cuts.
• Positive Sentiment: One market note highlighted A. O. Smith as still undervalued with a strong GF Score, which may be helping support some buying interest after the recent pullback. A.O. Smith Corp (AOS) Stock Up 3.3% and Still Undervalued — GF Score: 84/100

A. O. Smith 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.