A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Price Target Raised to $91.00

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) had its price target upped by Stifel Nicolaus from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a hold rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

AOS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Citigroup raised their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded A. O. Smith from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $88.50.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

NYSE:AOS opened at $86.46 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.25. A. O. Smith has a 52-week low of $63.88 and a 52-week high of $89.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $84.98 and a 200 day moving average of $79.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.59.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.01. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 14.45%. The business had revenue of $988.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $985.89 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that A. O. Smith will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.59%.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,455 shares in the company, valued at $800,176.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Idelle K. Wolf sold 814 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $65,120.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 46,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,691,200. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $800,176.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,631 shares of company stock worth $8,042,535. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,258,000. Trust Point Inc. bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,047,000. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 37,768 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,498,000 after acquiring an additional 3,065 shares in the last quarter. FCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 138.7% during the 4th quarter. FCF Advisors LLC now owns 22,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,833,000 after acquiring an additional 12,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 10,836 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $894,000 after acquiring an additional 1,325 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.