Norges Bank Makes New $97.10 Million Investment in A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,451,866 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,101,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.04% of A. O. Smith at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 3,261 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $218,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Grey Ledge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Grey Ledge Advisors LLC now owns 8,966 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $600,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Eukles Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Eukles Asset Management now owns 29,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,956,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 642 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,130 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $57.22 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $61.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.33. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 1 year low of $54.16 and a 1 year high of $81.86. The company has a market capitalization of $7.89 billion, a PE ratio of 15.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 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.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $945.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $974.06 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue 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. On average, research analysts predict that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AOS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $75.00 price target on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $70.00 price target on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $61.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $69.89.

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.