A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $77.00.

AOS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $69.00 price objective on shares of A. O. Smith and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $77.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday, January 30th.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 1,104 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total value of $82,126.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $163,732.39. This represents a 33.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of A. O. Smith

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AOS. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its position in A. O. Smith by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 3,261 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $218,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Grey Ledge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Grey Ledge Advisors LLC now owns 8,966 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $600,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Eukles Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Eukles Asset Management now owns 29,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,956,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 642 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Founders Financial Alliance LLC increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 5,607 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of AOS stock opened at $70.47 on Tuesday. A. O. Smith has a 12 month low of $58.83 and a 12 month high of $81.86. The company has a market capitalization of $9.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $73.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $912.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $928.97 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 29.51% and a net margin of 14.26%.A. O. Smith’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that A. O. Smith will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 37.31%.

About A. O. Smith

A. O. Smith Corporation, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a leading manufacturer of water heating and water treatment products for residential and commercial applications. Since its founding in 1874, the company has built a reputation for producing reliable, energy-efficient water heaters, boilers and pressure vessels. Its product portfolio encompasses gas, electric, condensing and tankless water heaters, as well as specialty boilers designed to meet a variety of building and industrial needs.

The company operates through two primary segments: North America and Asia.