A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday.

AOS has been the subject of several other research reports. UBS Group increased their price target on A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $97.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.67.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AOS traded down $0.76 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $89.83. The stock had a trading volume of 1,048,764 shares, compared to its average volume of 945,440. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. A. O. Smith has a 1 year low of $64.86 and a 1 year high of $92.44. The company has a market capitalization of $13.10 billion, a PE ratio of 23.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.03.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In related news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of A. O. Smith 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $194,319. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 39.7% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 79,075 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,519,000 after buying an additional 22,483 shares during the period. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth $218,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 2.8% in the fourth 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 last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 31,737.5% in the fourth 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. lifted its holdings 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 last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently 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.