Analysts Set A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) PT at $83.17

Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $83.17.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group raised A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson lowered shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AOS. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $232,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 29.9% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,245 shares during the last quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.9% in the second quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC now owns 35,275 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,885,000 after buying an additional 980 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 44,417 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,632,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the period. Finally, American National Bank grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. American National Bank now owns 18,652 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,525,000 after acquiring an additional 1,357 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of AOS opened at $68.72 on Friday. A. O. Smith has a fifty-two week low of $68.07 and a fifty-two week high of $92.44. The business has a 50-day moving average of $74.58 and a 200 day moving average of $80.16. The firm has a market cap of $9.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.67.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.82. The firm had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $960.36 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 30.09%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith will post 3.77 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. This is a positive change from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.79%.

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.