Brokerages Set A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Target Price at $89.67

Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $89.67.

Several brokerages have issued reports on AOS. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $97.00 to $98.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com downgraded A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group lifted 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.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction of $1,191,105.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now 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. 2.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 11.3% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 225,930 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,212,000 after buying an additional 22,859 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 37.2% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 623,357 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $51,390,000 after purchasing an additional 168,911 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the second quarter worth approximately $228,000. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in 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 valued at $6,519,000 after purchasing an additional 22,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cim LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,165,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $87.51 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.07. The company has a market cap of $12.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.15. A. O. Smith has a 12 month low of $64.86 and a 12 month high of $92.44. 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 (NYSE:AOS) last announced 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 return on equity of 31.04% and a net margin of 14.67%. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.01 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that A. O. Smith will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

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

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.