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 research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on AOS. 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 research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Oppenheimer reissued a market perform rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded A. O. Smith from a hold rating to a buy rating and boosted their target price for the company from $97.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $89.67.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

A. O. Smith stock opened at $80.27 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. A. O. Smith has a twelve month low of $64.14 and a twelve month high of $92.44. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $83.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.89. The company has a market cap of $11.71 billion, a PE ratio of 20.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.15.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1 billion. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.67% and a return on equity of 31.04%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 33.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AOS. Isthmus Partners LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 157.2% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 665.0% during the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. Twin Tree Management LP boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 188.9% during the first quarter. Twin Tree Management LP now owns 737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.