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

StockNews.com lowered shares of A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded A. O. Smith from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised their target price for the company from $97.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $89.67.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE:AOS opened at $88.03 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $82.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.07. The stock has a market cap of $12.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.15. A. O. Smith has a twelve month low of $64.86 and a twelve month high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.01). A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.67% and a return on equity of 31.04%. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. A. O. Smith’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that A. O. Smith will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.16%.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total value of $1,191,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $194,319. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of A. O. Smith

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 7.2% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,007 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Algebris UK Ltd grew its position in A. O. Smith by 2.3% during the first quarter. Algebris UK Ltd now owns 6,109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $506,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings 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 during the last quarter. American International Group Inc. raised its position in A. O. Smith by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 33,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,740,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Finally, Kessler Investment Group LLC grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Kessler Investment Group LLC now owns 5,087 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $416,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

About A. O. Smith

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.