Stifel Nicolaus Raises A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Price Target to $91.00

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) had its price objective increased by Stifel Nicolaus from $85.00 to $91.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

AOS has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of A. O. Smith from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $88.50.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $86.07 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. A. O. Smith has a 12 month low of $63.88 and a 12 month high of $89.96. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.19. The stock has a market cap of $12.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.26, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.25.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $988.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $985.89 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.45% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.86 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that A. O. Smith will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 34.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 24,669 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.02, for a total value of $2,048,020.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director now 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Idelle K. Wolf sold 814 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $65,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 46,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,691,200. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 24,669 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 95,631 shares of company stock valued at $8,042,535. 2.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AOS. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.2% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 17,210 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,093,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 21.4% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 35,713 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,282,000 after acquiring an additional 6,288 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 17,584 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,123,000 after acquiring an additional 867 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 4,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,145,799 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $73,218,000 after acquiring an additional 20,616 shares during 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.