A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Updates FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 3.600-3.900 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 3.980. The company issued revenue guidance of $3.9 billion-$4.0 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $4.0 billion.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

NYSE:AOS traded down $1.63 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $60.21. 1,571,287 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,478,972. A. O. Smith has a 52 week low of $59.83 and a 52 week high of $81.86. The firm has a market cap of $8.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.96.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $945.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $974.06 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 29.51% and a net margin of 14.26%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.600-3.900 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on AOS shares. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. Robert W. Baird set a $70.00 price target on A. O. Smith in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $61.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $75.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 1,104 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total transaction of $82,126.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $163,732.39. This represents a 33.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting A. O. Smith

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

• Positive Sentiment: Operating cash flow and free cash flow improved materially (operating cash flow ~$129M; free cash flow ~$119M), supporting balance‑sheet strength and buyback/dividend flexibility. PR Newswire: Q1 Results & Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: North America sales rose ~1%, aided by the Leonard Valve acquisition and pricing, which helped offset softer volumes and production/shipping issues. PR Newswire: Q1 Results & Outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Full Q1 call transcript, slide deck and analyst summaries are available for details on segment trends, cost items and management commentary. Use these to assess recovery timing and margin assumptions. Seeking Alpha: Q1 Transcript Seeking Alpha: Presentation
• Negative Sentiment: Reported EPS $0.85 vs. consensus ~$0.94 and revenue $945.6M vs. ~$974M — year‑over‑year revenue down ~1.9%, signaling near‑term demand softness. Zacks: Q1 Miss
• Negative Sentiment: Management cut FY‑2026 EPS guidance to $3.60–$3.90 (consensus ~3.98) and trimmed revenue outlook, citing continued China weakness — a primary driver of the negative re‑rating. PR Newswire: Outlook Cut
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan lowered its price target from $75 to $65 and assigned a “neutral” rating, reducing near‑term analyst support; this follows the earnings/guidance miss and amplifies downward pressure. Benzinga: JPMorgan PT Cut
• Negative Sentiment: China/Rest‑of‑World sales fell ~11% and remain the main risk to hitting prior estimates — analysts and investors will watch China demand and inventory unwind closely. TipRanks: China Drag Analysis

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AOS. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 93.2% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,279,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $85,563,000 after buying an additional 617,179 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 655.5% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 710,716 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,602,000 after acquiring an additional 616,638 shares during the period. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 530.1% in the third quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 633,407 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,498,000 after acquiring an additional 532,875 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 64.2% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,265,041 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $84,606,000 after purchasing an additional 494,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 521.1% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 581,070 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,101,000 after purchasing an additional 487,513 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.