A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Receives $76.17 Average PT from Brokerages

A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $76.17.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AOS. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on 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. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of AOS opened at $70.51 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $65.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market capitalization of $10.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.28. A. O. Smith has a 52-week low of $58.83 and a 52-week high of $92.45.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $963.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $950.56 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that A. O. Smith will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AOS. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 67.3% during the first quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 5,188,561 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $339,124,000 after purchasing an additional 2,086,433 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter worth $96,180,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in A. O. Smith by 998.6% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,348,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $88,121,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225,521 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the first quarter worth $74,180,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in A. O. Smith by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,704,295 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $320,880,000 after acquiring an additional 995,043 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

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.