Citigroup Lowers A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Price Target to $72.00

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) had its price objective lowered by stock analysts at Citigroup from $77.00 to $72.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Citigroup’s target price suggests a potential upside of 7.91% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on AOS. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $76.00 target price (up from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $80.00 price target on shares of A. O. Smith and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, A. O. Smith currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.00.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $66.72 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.54. The company has a market capitalization of $9.35 billion, a PE ratio of 17.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.89. A. O. Smith has a one year low of $58.83 and a one year high of $77.92.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The industrial products company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $942.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $946.33 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 29.34%. A. O. Smith’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.82 EPS. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.700-3.850 EPS. Research analysts expect that A. O. Smith will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. WealthPLAN Partners LLC boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC now owns 12,080 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $887,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 37.8% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 4.5% during the second quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,972 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 2.5% during the second quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 7,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $462,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.1% during 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 during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is 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.