A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $77.00.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AOS. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $69.00 price target on shares of A. O. Smith and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 price objective on shares of A. O. Smith and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Robert W. Baird set a $77.00 target price on A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $85.00 price target on A. O. Smith and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

AOS stock opened at $79.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.50. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.38. The company has a market capitalization of $11.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.36. A. O. Smith has a 52-week low of $58.83 and a 52-week high of $81.86.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.06. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 29.51% and a net margin of 14.26%.The company had revenue of $912.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $928.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that A. O. Smith will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 37.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 356 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.89, for a total value of $28,440.84. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 3,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $263,237.55. The trade was a 9.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $97,101,000. Madison Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at $80,885,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 54.2% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,208,831 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $235,560,000 after acquiring an additional 1,128,543 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 220.4% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,022,299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $68,371,000 after acquiring an additional 703,186 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,096,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,009,622,000 after acquiring an additional 683,176 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, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a leading manufacturer of water heating and water treatment products for residential and commercial applications. Since its founding in 1874, the company has built a reputation for producing reliable, energy-efficient water heaters, boilers and pressure vessels. Its product portfolio encompasses gas, electric, condensing and tankless water heaters, as well as specialty boilers designed to meet a variety of building and industrial needs.

The company operates through two primary segments: North America and Asia.