UBS Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Stock Price

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) had its target price decreased by UBS Group from $80.00 to $74.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

AOS has been the topic of a number of other reports. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday, January 18th. DA Davidson cut 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 research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $67.27 on Friday. 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 12 month low of $65.53 and a 12 month high of $92.44. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $70.71 and a 200 day moving average of $77.39. The firm has a market cap of $9.75 billion, a PE ratio of 17.70, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.18.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 30.09%. On average, research analysts expect that A. O. Smith will post 3.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.79%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 4,691 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 10,419 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $711,000 after acquiring an additional 654 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 684.3% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 138,991 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,462,000 after acquiring an additional 121,270 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 18,966 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,277,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PUREfi Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at about $252,000. 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.