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

Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the seven research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $80.86.

Several analysts have recently commented on AOS shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup cut their price target on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of AOS opened at $65.98 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $68.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.00. A. O. Smith has a twelve month low of $64.55 and a twelve month high of $92.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.50 billion, a PE ratio of 18.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.17.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. Research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.47%.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,117,943 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $962,985,000 after buying an additional 148,432 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,721,581 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $693,630,000 after purchasing an additional 299,766 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in A. O. Smith by 26.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,704,295 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $320,880,000 after purchasing an additional 995,043 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,698,517 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $251,751,000 after purchasing an additional 111,612 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,618,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $178,587,000 after purchasing an additional 417,595 shares in the last quarter. 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.