A.O. Smith Corp. (NYSE:AOS) – William Blair increased their FY2016 earnings per share estimates for shares of A.O. Smith Corp. in a note issued to investors on Wednesday. William Blair analyst L. De. Maria now anticipates that the brokerage will earn $3.60 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $3.50. William Blair also issued estimates for A.O. Smith Corp.’s Q4 2016 earnings at $0.91 EPS and FY2017 earnings at $4.20 EPS.
A.O. Smith Corp. (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 26th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.08. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. The business had revenue of $667 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $696.69 million. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year.
Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Zacks Investment Research raised A.O. Smith Corp. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $88.00 target price on shares of A.O. Smith Corp. in a report on Friday, April 8th. Longbow Research assumed coverage on A.O. Smith Corp. in a report on Friday, June 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. SunTrust Banks Inc. reduced their target price on A.O. Smith Corp. from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 14th. Finally, Sterne Agee CRT reissued a “buy” rating on shares of A.O. Smith Corp. in a report on Monday, May 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $86.43.
In other A.O. Smith Corp. news, insider Wei Ding sold 8,182 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.16, for a total transaction of $639,505.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $483,185.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.93, for a total value of $923,160.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 23,806 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,831,395.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 29th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 27th.
A. O. Smith Corporation operates its business through two segments, which include North America and Rest of World. The Company’s Rest of World segment primarily comprises China, Europe and India. The Rest of World segment supplies water heaters to the residential market in China with a range of product offering, including electric, gas, gas tankless, heat pump and solar units, as well as combi boilers.
