Navigation Group LLC Invests $713,000 in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Navigation Group LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 10,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $713,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AOS. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its position in A. O. Smith by 3,481.8% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 394 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 67.9% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 1.0%

AOS stock opened at $60.28 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.31 billion, a PE ratio of 16.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.16. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 12 month low of $54.16 and a 12 month high of $81.86. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $945.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $974.06 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. The company’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. Equities analysts expect that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 38.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $61.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Robert W. Baird set a $70.00 target price on A. O. Smith in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Oppenheimer set a $75.00 target price on A. O. Smith and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $75.00 price target on A. O. Smith in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Two research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $69.33.

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.