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

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

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on AOS. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $97.00 to $98.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.67.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of AOS opened at $78.75 on Friday. A. O. Smith has a 1 year low of $65.08 and a 1 year high of $92.44. The company has a market capitalization of $11.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.30, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.70.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1 billion. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.04% and a net margin of 14.67%. A. O. Smith’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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 will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This is an increase from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.99%.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In related news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $194,319. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 648.8% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 45,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,072,000 after acquiring an additional 39,276 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC raised its position in A. O. Smith by 20.9% during the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 620,212 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,714,000 after purchasing an additional 107,248 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 44.7% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,828 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $640,000 after buying an additional 2,419 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 17.7% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 3,607 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 4.4% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 13,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,188,000 after buying an additional 554 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.