A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Receives $76.17 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $76.17.

Several research firms have recently commented on AOS. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,847 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.3% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,532 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $363,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group now owns 15,607 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,020,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,873 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 74.8% during the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 458 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AOS opened at $70.51 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $65.68 and its 200 day moving average is $68.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. A. O. Smith has a 52 week low of $58.83 and a 52 week high of $92.45. The stock has a market cap of $10.02 billion, a PE ratio of 19.42, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.28.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $963.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $950.56 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 37.99%.

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.