Weiss Ratings Reiterates “Hold (C)” Rating for A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS)

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS)‘s stock had its “hold (c)” rating reiterated by equities researchers at Weiss Ratings in a research report issued on Saturday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson downgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of AOS opened at $67.07 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a 50 day moving average of $70.55 and a 200-day moving average of $77.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.17. A. O. Smith has a twelve month low of $65.53 and a twelve month high of $92.44.

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

Institutional Trading of A. O. Smith

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 7.2% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,007 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its position in A. O. Smith by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,227 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 2,989 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 156 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.