A. O. Smith’s (AOS) Hold (C+) Rating Reiterated at Weiss Ratings

Weiss Ratings reaffirmed their hold (c+) rating on shares of A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) in a research note released on Friday morning,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other analysts have also commented on AOS. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 18th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $76.00 price objective (up from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.00.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of AOS opened at $68.91 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $71.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.83. A. O. Smith has a 52 week low of $58.83 and a 52 week high of $78.25. The stock has a market cap of $9.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.30.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $997.89 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.42% and a net margin of 13.68%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.06 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other A. O. Smith news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total transaction of $1,581,972.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 100,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,172,105.22. The trade was a 18.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 37.8% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,972 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 7,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $462,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,847 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,532 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About A. O. Smith

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.