A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $89.29.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $97.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup raised their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of AOS opened at $80.76 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $83.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. A. O. Smith has a twelve month low of $64.14 and a twelve month high of $92.44. The company has a market cap of $11.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.15.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.01). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.94% and a net margin of 14.94%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that A. O. Smith will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.16%.

Institutional Trading of A. O. Smith

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 157.2% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 665.0% in the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Twin Tree Management LP raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 188.9% in the first quarter. Twin Tree Management LP now owns 737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 1,566 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 25.5% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 961 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About A. O. Smith

A. O. Smith Corporation manufactures and markets residential and commercial gas and electric water heaters, boilers, heat pumps, tanks, and water treatment products in North America, China, Europe, and India. The company offers water heaters for residences, restaurants, hotels, office buildings, laundries, car washes, and small businesses; boilers for hospitals, schools, hotels, and other large commercial buildings, as well as homes, apartments, and condominiums; and water treatment products comprising point-of-entry water softeners, well water solutions, and whole-home water filtration products, and point-of-use carbon and reverse osmosis products for residences, restaurants, hotels, and offices.