A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

by · The Markets Daily

StockNews.com cut shares of A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS – Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on AOS. DA Davidson lowered shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.71.

View Our Latest Report on AOS

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $76.38 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $11.20 billion, a PE ratio of 19.79, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. A. O. Smith has a 1-year low of $67.96 and a 1-year high of $92.44. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $82.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.19.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82. The firm had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $960.36 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 30.09%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. Research analysts predict that A. O. Smith will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. This is a boost from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total value of $1,191,105.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $194,319. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 24,552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,206,000 after acquiring an additional 2,435 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 114.0% in the 3rd quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 6,538 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $587,000 after acquiring an additional 3,483 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at about $256,000. Trajan Wealth LLC raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC now owns 3,073 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $276,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at about $226,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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