A. O. Smith Exhibits Strong Prospects Despite Persisting Headwinds

Zacks01-06

A. O. Smith Corporation AOS engages in bolt-on acquisitions to augment its portfolio and expand its business geographically. In November 2024, the company acquired the Pureit business from Unilever. ...

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In November 2024, the company acquired the Pureit business from Unilever. ...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://finance.yahoo.com/news/o-smith-exhibits-strong-prospects-140200084.html\">Source Link</a>\n\n</div>\n","source":"yahoofinance","html":"<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n<head>\n<meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text/html; charset=utf-8\" />\n<meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0,minimum-scale=1.0,maximum-scale=1.0,user-scalable=no\"/>\n<meta name=\"format-detection\" content=\"telephone=no,email=no,address=no\" />\n<title>A. O. Smith Exhibits Strong Prospects Despite Persisting Headwinds</title>\n<style type=\"text/css\">\na,abbr,acronym,address,applet,article,aside,audio,b,big,blockquote,body,canvas,caption,center,cite,code,dd,del,details,dfn,div,dl,dt,\nem,embed,fieldset,figcaption,figure,footer,form,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6,header,hgroup,html,i,iframe,img,ins,kbd,label,legend,li,mark,menu,nav,\nobject,ol,output,p,pre,q,ruby,s,samp,section,small,span,strike,strong,sub,summary,sup,table,tbody,td,tfoot,th,thead,time,tr,tt,u,ul,var,video{ font:inherit;margin:0;padding:0;vertical-align:baseline;border:0 }\nbody{ font-size:16px; line-height:1.5; color:#999; background:transparent; }\n.wrapper{ overflow:hidden;word-break:break-all;padding:10px; }\nh1,h2{ font-weight:normal; line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:.6em; }\nh3,h4,h5,h6{ line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:1em; }\nh1{ font-size:24px; }\nh2{ font-size:20px; }\nh3{ font-size:18px; }\nh4{ font-size:16px; }\nh5{ font-size:14px; }\nh6{ font-size:12px; }\np,ul,ol,blockquote,dl,table{ margin:1.2em 0; }\nul,ol{ margin-left:2em; }\nul{ list-style:disc; }\nol{ list-style:decimal; }\nli,li p{ margin:10px 0;}\nimg{ max-width:100%;display:block;margin:0 auto 1em; }\nblockquote{ color:#B5B2B1; border-left:3px solid #aaa; padding:1em; }\nstrong,b{font-weight:bold;}\nem,i{font-style:italic;}\ntable{ width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:1px;margin:1em 0;font-size:.9em; }\nth,td{ padding:5px;text-align:left;border:1px solid #aaa; }\nth{ font-weight:bold;background:#5d5d5d; }\n.symbol-link{font-weight:bold;}\n/* header{ border-bottom:1px solid #494756; } */\n.title{ margin:0 0 8px;line-height:1.3;color:#ddd; }\n.meta {color:#5e5c6d;font-size:13px;margin:0 0 .5em; }\na{text-decoration:none; color:#2a4b87;}\n.meta .head { display: inline-block; overflow: hidden}\n.head .h-thumb { width: 30px; height: 30px; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-radius: 50%; float: left;}\n.head .h-content { margin: 0; padding: 0 0 0 9px; float: left;}\n.head .h-name {font-size: 13px; color: #eee; margin: 0;}\n.head .h-time {font-size: 11px; color: #7E829C; margin: 0;line-height: 11px;}\n.small {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.9); -webkit-transform: scale(0.9); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.smaller {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.8); -webkit-transform: scale(0.8); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.bt-text {font-size: 12px;margin: 1.5em 0 0 0}\n.bt-text p {margin: 0}\n</style>\n</head>\n<body>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<header>\n<h2 class=\"title\">\nA. O. Smith Exhibits Strong Prospects Despite Persisting Headwinds\n</h2>\n\n<h4 class=\"meta\">\n\n\n2025-01-06 22:02 GMT+8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/o-smith-exhibits-strong-prospects-140200084.html><strong>Zacks</strong></a>\n\n\n</h4>\n\n</header>\n<article>\n<div>\n<p>A. O. Smith Corporation AOS engages in bolt-on acquisitions to augment its portfolio and expand its business geographically. In November 2024, the company acquired the Pureit business from Unilever. ...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://finance.yahoo.com/news/o-smith-exhibits-strong-prospects-140200084.html\">Source Link</a>\n\n</div>\n\n\n</article>\n</div>\n</body>\n</html>\n","isBrief":false,"type":0,"news_type":1,"symbol":null,"symbol_name":null,"start_time":0,"source_url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/news/o-smith-exhibits-strong-prospects-140200084.html","article_id":"2501617254","we_media_id":null,"thumbnails":[],"rights":null,"url":"https://stock-news.laohu8.com/highlight/detail?id=2501617254","pubTimestamp":1736172120,"columns":[],"sourceInfo":{"source_id":"yahoofinance","name":"雅虎金融"},"weMediaInfo":null,"summary":"AOS is experiencing weakness in the Rest of World and North America segments. Lower volumes of water heaters and water treatment products in China are challenging for the Rest of World segment. The segment’s revenues declined 10% year over year in the third quarter of 2024. A decline in orders for residential and commercial water heater products in the North America segment is also concerning. In the third quarter, the North America segment’s sales declined 1% year over year as higher boiler and water treatment volumes were offset by lower volumes of residential and commercial water heaters.Rising expenses put pressure on A. O. Smith’s bottom line. The company’s cost of sales was $1.8 billion in the first nine months, up 2.2% year over year due to higher material costs. SG&A expenses were up 2.8% year over year. The increase was attributable to higher employee costs from increased wages and management incentives. The company's raw material costs primarily depend on steel prices, which ","collect":0,"end_time":0,"defaultTopTitle":"yahoo.com","property":[],"viewcount":null,"language":"en","relate_stocks":{},"translate_title":"尽管阻力持续存在，A.O.Smith仍展现出强劲的前景","themeId":null,"isJumpTheme":false,"ttsUrl":null,"symbols_score_info":{"GNRC":1,"AOS":1,"GHC":0.9,"GHM":0.9},"content_text":"A. O. Smith Corporation AOS engages in bolt-on acquisitions to augment its portfolio and expand its business geographically. In November 2024, the company acquired the Pureit business from Unilever. The inclusion of Pureit’s expertise in water treatment solutions, coupled with its strong brand recognition, will enable A. O. Smith to expand its customer offerings and boost its position in the water treatment industry in India. In March 2024, the company acquired privately held water treatment company Impact Water Products, which expanded its water treatment footprint in North America. The acquired company is included in the North America segment. The company spent $21.3 million on acquisitions in the first nine months of 2024.A. O. Smith’s commitment to rewarding its shareholders through dividends and share buybacks is encouraging. In the first nine months of 2024, the company paid dividends worth $140.9 million, up 3.8% year over year. In October 2024, it increased the dividend by 6% to 34 cents per share (annually: $1.36). The company has increased its dividend consecutively for more than 30 years. In the first nine months of 2024, it also repurchased 2.9 million shares for $237.1 million. While exiting the third quarter, 2.7 million shares were left to be repurchased under the existing authorization. In the first quarter of 2024, the company’s board boosted the buyback program by another 2 million shares. For 2024, it expects to repurchase shares worth approximately $300 million.A. O. Smith has a sound liquidity position. At the end of the third quarter, the company had cash and cash equivalents of $219.3 million, much higher than the current debt of $10 million. Exiting the quarter, AOS had a long-term debt of $109.7 million. This implies that it has sufficient cash to meet its debt obligations.\nHeadwinds Plaguing AOS\nAOS is experiencing weakness in the Rest of World and North America segments. Lower volumes of water heaters and water treatment products in China are challenging for the Rest of World segment. The segment’s revenues declined 10% year over year in the third quarter of 2024. A decline in orders for residential and commercial water heater products in the North America segment is also concerning. In the third quarter, the North America segment’s sales declined 1% year over year as higher boiler and water treatment volumes were offset by lower volumes of residential and commercial water heaters.Rising expenses put pressure on A. O. Smith’s bottom line. The company’s cost of sales was $1.8 billion in the first nine months, up 2.2% year over year due to higher material costs. SG&A expenses were up 2.8% year over year.  The increase was attributable to higher employee costs from increased wages and management incentives. The company's raw material costs primarily depend on steel prices, which are subject to fluctuations over time. Any increase in cost that does not generate sales growth, would directly impact margins and profitability.AOS currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). In the past year, the stock has lost 13.5% against the industry’s 14.8% growth.\nImage Source: Zacks Investment Research\nStocks to Consider\nSome better-ranked companies are discussed below.Graham Corporation GHM currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.GHM delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 101.9%. In the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Graham’s fiscal 2025 earnings has increased 8.4%.Powell Industries POWL presently sports a Zacks Rank of 1. The company delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 57.5%.In the past 60 days, the consensus estimate for POWL’s fiscal 2025 earnings has increased 10.1%.Generac Holdings Inc. GNRC presently carries a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy). It has a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 10.8%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GNRC’s 2024 earnings has increased 10.1% in the past 60 days. \nWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report\nA. O. Smith Corporation (AOS) : Free Stock Analysis Report\nGraham Corporation (GHM) : Free Stock Analysis Report\nGenerac Holdings Inc. (GNRC) : Free Stock Analysis Report\nPowell Industries, Inc. (POWL) : Free Stock Analysis Report\nTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.\nZacks Investment Research","kind":"highlight","is_publish_news":true,"is_publish_highlight":false,"is_publish_live":false,"is_publish_wemedia":null,"editions":null,"column":"","sentiment":"1","news_tag":"","news_rank":0,"symbols":[],"gpt_button":1},"commentList":[],"isCommentEnd":true,"newsSizeData":{"likeSize":0,"commentSize":0,"repostSize":0,"favoriteSize":0,"likeStatus":false,"favoriteStatus":false},"APP":{"userAgent":"Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; ClaudeBot/1.0; +claudebot@anthropic.com)","isDev":false,"isTTM":true,"deviceId":"web-server-community-laohu8-v3","version":"4.30.0","shortVersion":"4.30.0","platform":"web","vendor":"web","appName":"ttm","isIOS":false,"isAndroid":false,"isTiger":false,"isTHS":false,"isWeiXin":false,"isWeiXinMini":false,"isWeiBo":false,"isQQ":false,"isBaiduSwan":false,"isBaiduBox":false,"isDingTalk":false,"isToutiao":false,"isOnePlus":false,"isHuaWei":false,"isXiaomi":false,"isXiaomiWebView":false,"isOppo":false,"isVivo":false,"isSamsung":false,"isMobile":false},"href":"/m/news/2501617254"}