StockNews.com Upgrades A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) to “Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Friday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on AOS. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $97.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.67.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $78.75 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.68. The stock has a market cap of $11.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. A. O. Smith has a fifty-two week low of $65.08 and a fifty-two week high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1 billion. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.04% and a net margin of 14.67%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that A. O. Smith will post 3.77 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a $0.34 dividend. This is a positive change from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total value of $1,191,105.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $194,319. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the second quarter worth $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 214.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 157.2% in the second 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Company Profile

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.