A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $77.00.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $69.00 price target on A. O. Smith and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $85.00 price objective on A. O. Smith and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $77.00 price objective on A. O. Smith in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 target price on A. O. Smith and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of AOS stock opened at $64.35 on Friday. A. O. Smith has a 52 week low of $58.83 and a 52 week high of $81.86. The company has a market capitalization of $8.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.50.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.06. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 29.51%. The firm had revenue of $912.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $928.97 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that A. O. Smith will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is currently 37.31%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 1,104 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total transaction of $82,126.56. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $163,732.39. This trade represents a 33.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 3,261 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Grey Ledge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Grey Ledge Advisors LLC now owns 8,966 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $600,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Eukles Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Eukles Asset Management now owns 29,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,956,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 642 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Founders Financial Alliance LLC increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 5,607 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Company Profile

A. O. Smith Corporation, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a leading manufacturer of water heating and water treatment products for residential and commercial applications. Since its founding in 1874, the company has built a reputation for producing reliable, energy-efficient water heaters, boilers and pressure vessels. Its product portfolio encompasses gas, electric, condensing and tankless water heaters, as well as specialty boilers designed to meet a variety of building and industrial needs.

The company operates through two primary segments: North America and Asia.