A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com downgraded shares of A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday morning.

A number of other research firms have also commented on AOS. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group raised their target price on A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a sell rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the stock from $97.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $89.67.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

A. O. Smith stock opened at $87.51 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.07. A. O. Smith has a one year low of $64.86 and a one year high of $92.44. The company has a market capitalization of $12.84 billion, a PE ratio of 22.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.01). A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.67% and a return on equity of 31.04%. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that A. O. Smith will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 33.16%.

Insider Activity

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total value of $1,191,105.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $194,319. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 39.7% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 79,075 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,519,000 after acquiring an additional 22,483 shares during the last quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at $218,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 55,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,568,000 after buying an additional 1,512 shares during the period. TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 31,737.5% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,547 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 2,539 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 7,726 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $637,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.