A. O. Smith’s (AOS) Underweight Rating Reaffirmed at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated their underweight rating on shares of A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) in a research note released on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a $60.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock, down from their previous price target of $65.00.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Citigroup cut their target price on A. O. Smith from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research downgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday, May 1st. DA Davidson set a $67.00 target price on A. O. Smith and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $61.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $69.89.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 3.4%

AOS stock opened at $56.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.56. The company has a market capitalization of $7.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.90, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. A. O. Smith has a fifty-two week low of $55.98 and a fifty-two week high of $81.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $64.40 and a 200-day moving average of $68.28.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.94 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $945.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $974.06 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.42% and a net margin of 13.84%.The firm’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.600-3.900 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that A. O. Smith will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.30%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 1,104 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total transaction of $82,126.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $163,732.39. This trade represents a 33.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of A. O. Smith

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 3,481.8% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 394 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 3,125.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 387 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

About A. O. Smith

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.