A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Price Target Lowered to $75.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) had its target price decreased by stock analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $84.00 to $75.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price suggests a potential upside of 18.87% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on AOS. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. 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 research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.50.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

AOS opened at $63.09 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $65.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. A. O. Smith has a 12-month low of $58.83 and a 12-month high of $92.45.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. On average, equities analysts forecast that A. O. Smith will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In related news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $67,356.90. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at $583,562.85. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $27,507.35. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,471.85. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of A. O. Smith

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AOS. Greenleaf Trust lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,873 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 4.5% in the first quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 4,898 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 34,838 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,376,000 after buying an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.9% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 6,785 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $609,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 3,454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.