A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Stock Moved Down to “Strong Sell” by Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report published on Tuesday morning,Zacks reports.

AOS has been the topic of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $72.00 target price (down from $75.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Longbow Research cut A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $59.00 price target on A. O. Smith and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $66.00.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 5.3%

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $67.19 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business has a 50-day moving average of $59.14 and a 200-day moving average of $63.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.72, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.03. A. O. Smith has a 12 month low of $54.16 and a 12 month high of $81.86.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.03. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 27.66%. The business had revenue of $940.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $960.20 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. A. O. Smith’s quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that A. O. Smith will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th will be given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. This is a boost from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is 42.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AOS. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 24.4% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,172 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 23.5% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,142 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 597 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 774.4% in the second quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 2,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $171,000 after buying an additional 2,416 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 8.5% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,660 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $175,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the period. Finally, Mufg Securities Americas Inc. raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. now owns 3,372 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Company Profile

A. O. Smith Corporation is a manufacturer of water heating and water treatment products for residential, commercial and industrial customers. Its portfolio includes gas and electric storage water heaters, tankless water heaters, boilers, heat pump water heaters, water filtration systems, water softeners and reverse-osmosis products.

The company markets products under the A. O. Smith brand and other regional brands, serving applications ranging from homes and apartments to hotels, hospitals, schools, manufacturing facilities and other commercial properties.