A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Receives $90.67 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the seven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $90.67.

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on A. O. Smith from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $85.58 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The company has a market cap of $12.55 billion, a PE ratio of 22.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.27. A. O. Smith has a 12 month low of $63.88 and a 12 month high of $89.96.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.01. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.94% and a return on equity of 30.94%. The firm had revenue of $978.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $995.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. A. O. Smith’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 60,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.51, for a total transaction of $5,092,403.58. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 56,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,812,929.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 60,258 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.51, for a total transaction of $5,092,403.58. Following the sale, the director now owns 56,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,812,929.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 9,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $800,176.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 94,817 shares of company stock worth $7,977,415 over the last quarter. 2.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AOS. Algebris UK Ltd raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 2.3% in the first quarter. Algebris UK Ltd now owns 6,109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $506,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.7% during the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,230 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 3.2% in the third quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,762 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 3.3% during the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $413,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Asset Strategies Inc. lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $909,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.