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

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

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

A. O. Smith Price Performance

AOS stock opened at $86.07 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.26, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.25. A. O. Smith has a twelve month low of $63.88 and a twelve month high of $89.96. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $988.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $985.89 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 14.45%. The company’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 9,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $800,176.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other A. O. Smith news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 60,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.51, for a total value of $5,092,403.58. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 56,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,812,929.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $800,176.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 95,631 shares of company stock valued at $8,042,535. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at $37,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 628.0% in the third quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 36.1% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 393.1% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 858 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the second quarter valued at $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

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.