A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Thursday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group upgraded A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price 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. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson lowered shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.71.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

A. O. Smith stock opened at $74.86 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $81.26 and a 200-day moving average of $82.61. A. O. Smith has a 52-week low of $70.97 and a 52-week high of $92.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.70, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.17.

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

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a positive change from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in A. O. Smith in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 214.9% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Company Profile

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.