A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

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

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AOS. Stifel Nicolaus set a $85.00 price target on A. O. Smith and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $77.00 price target on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday, January 30th.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In other news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 1,104 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total value of $82,126.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 2,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $163,732.39. This trade represents a 33.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 3,261 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Grey Ledge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Grey Ledge Advisors LLC now owns 8,966 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $600,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Eukles Asset Management grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Eukles Asset Management now owns 29,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,956,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 642 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, Founders Financial Alliance LLC raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 5,607 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $375,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE AOS opened at $66.35 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.62. A. O. Smith has a one year low of $58.83 and a one year high of $81.86. The firm has a market cap of $9.17 billion, a PE ratio of 17.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $912.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $928.97 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 29.51% and a net margin of 14.26%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that A. O. Smith will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.31%.

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.