A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Earns “Hold (C)” Rating from Weiss Ratings

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS)‘s stock had its “hold (c)” rating reissued by stock analysts at Weiss Ratings in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer increased their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $76.00 target price (up previously from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on A. O. Smith in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.43.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE:AOS opened at $70.82 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $66.92 and its 200 day moving average is $66.82. A. O. Smith has a fifty-two week low of $58.83 and a fifty-two week high of $92.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.06 billion, a PE ratio of 19.73, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.65.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.10. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.42% and a net margin of 13.68%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $997.89 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.06 EPS. A. O. Smith’s quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total transaction of $1,581,972.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 100,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,172,105.22. This represents a 18.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the first quarter worth about $26,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 143.7% in the second quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 446 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 74.8% in the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 458 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 69.9% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 491 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 161.7% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 539 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during 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.