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

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) had its price target reduced by Stifel Nicolaus from $92.00 to $91.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on AOS. UBS Group raised A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday. DA Davidson lowered A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.71.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

AOS stock opened at $76.87 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.67. A. O. Smith has a one year low of $65.20 and a one year high of $92.44. The firm has a market cap of $11.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.91, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.15.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82. The company had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $960.36 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 30.09%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that A. O. Smith will post 3.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. This is a boost from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total transaction of $1,191,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $194,319. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sarasin & Partners LLP purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $78,766,000. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 11.6% during the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 3,852,467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $315,055,000 after buying an additional 400,304 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the second quarter valued at $22,288,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at $24,060,000. Finally, Distillate Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 100,431.5% in the second quarter. Distillate Capital Partners LLC now owns 162,861 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,319,000 after acquiring an additional 162,699 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.