A. O. Smith Corporation $AOS Shares Sold by Heartland Advisors Inc.

Heartland Advisors Inc. reduced its position in A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 141,543 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 14,050 shares during the quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $9,466,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 40.8% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 54,233 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,627,000 after purchasing an additional 15,727 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 183,959 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,303,000 after purchasing an additional 6,952 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 119.4% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 33,793 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,260,000 after purchasing an additional 18,392 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 74.0% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 32,556 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,177,000 after purchasing an additional 13,843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 184,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,344,000 after purchasing an additional 10,390 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on AOS shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research lowered shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $61.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Robert W. Baird set a $70.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson set a $67.00 price target on A. O. Smith and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $69.33.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 3.2%

NYSE:AOS opened at $57.33 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.90 billion, a PE ratio of 15.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. A. O. Smith Corporation has a 52-week low of $54.16 and a 52-week high of $81.86. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.25.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $945.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $974.06 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.42% and a net margin of 13.84%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.600-3.900 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

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

A. O. Smith News Summary

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

About A. O. Smith

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.