A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Price Target Raised to $90.00

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) had its price target hoisted by Jefferies Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

AOS has been the subject of several other research reports. StockNews.com lowered A. O. Smith from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $86.67.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of AOS opened at $85.15 on Friday. A. O. Smith has a 12 month low of $63.88 and a 12 month high of $89.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $84.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market cap of $12.53 billion, a PE ratio of 23.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.25.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.01. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 14.45%. The firm had revenue of $988.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $985.89 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.86 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that A. O. Smith will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 34.59%.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total transaction of $836,990.70. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $800,176.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other A. O. Smith news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 24,669 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.02, for a total transaction of $2,048,020.38. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 56,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,728,072.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,455 shares in the company, valued at $800,176.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 95,631 shares of company stock valued at $8,042,535 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AOS. Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 628.0% during the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 36.1% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 393.1% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 858 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares during the period. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter valued at about $66,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.