A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Receives $76.50 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four 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 brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $76.50.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AOS shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group cut their target price on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $61.74 on Friday. A. O. Smith has a 12-month low of $58.83 and a 12-month high of $92.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.01, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $65.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.20.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. Equities analysts expect that A. O. Smith will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is 37.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $67,356.90. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,562.85. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,471.85. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 24.9% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $538,000 after buying an additional 1,642 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 1st quarter valued at $280,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 787,518 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $51,472,000 after purchasing an additional 10,264 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 27.6% in the 1st quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 8,580 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 1,854 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.8% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 13,831 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $903,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.