A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $76.50.

AOS has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $84.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup cut 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In related news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,471.85. This represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of A. O. Smith 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $583,562.85. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AOS. MML Investors Services LLC raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 9,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $830,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 60.0% in the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 4,569 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $410,000 after acquiring an additional 1,713 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 11.4% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 18,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,882 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,726,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter worth approximately $235,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $63.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.55. A. O. Smith has a 52 week low of $58.83 and a 52 week high of $92.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $65.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.08 billion, a PE ratio of 17.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26.

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

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 37.47%.

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.