A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $86.71.

Several brokerages have recently commented on AOS. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson downgraded A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group raised A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $73.44 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $79.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.67. A. O. Smith has a 52-week low of $70.73 and a 52-week high of $92.44. The company has a market capitalization of $10.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.17.

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

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a $0.34 dividend. This is a positive change from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AOS. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,227 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Algebris UK Ltd boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Algebris UK Ltd now owns 6,109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $506,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 5.0% in the third quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 2,989 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.