A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Given Hold (C) Rating at Weiss Ratings

Weiss Ratings reissued their hold (c) rating on shares of A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

AOS has been the topic of several other reports. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. 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 research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of AOS stock opened at $67.43 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.55. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $68.69 and its 200-day moving average is $75.57. The stock has a market cap of $9.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.58, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.17. A. O. Smith has a 52-week low of $64.55 and a 52-week high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. Sell-side analysts predict that A. O. Smith will post 3.77 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is 37.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $67,356.90. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at $583,562.85. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at $180,471.85. This represents a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AOS. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at about $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at about $55,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter valued at about $60,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter valued at about $66,000. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

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.