A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Receives $86.71 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $86.71.

A number of research firms have recently commented on AOS. DA Davidson cut A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group upgraded shares of 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,726,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 18,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,650,000 after acquiring an additional 1,882 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 60.0% in the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 4,569 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $410,000 after acquiring an additional 1,713 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 59,376 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,334,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,788 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of AOS opened at $73.91 on Wednesday. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $79.81 and a 200 day moving average of $81.72. The company has a market cap of $10.72 billion, a PE ratio of 19.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.17. A. O. Smith has a 52-week low of $70.73 and a 52-week high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that A. O. Smith will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. This is a boost from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.79%.

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.