A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Given “Hold (C)” Rating at Weiss Ratings

Weiss Ratings reiterated their hold (c) rating on shares of A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) in a research report report published on Saturday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com cut A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup dropped their target price on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $88.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.14.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of AOS stock traded up $0.47 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $71.87. 1,285,710 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 842,383. A. O. Smith has a 1 year low of $67.17 and a 1 year high of $92.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market cap of $10.42 billion, a PE ratio of 18.91, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $71.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.26.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.82. The company had revenue of $957.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $960.36 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 30.09%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. Research analysts predict that A. O. Smith will post 3.77 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 214.9% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth $32,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at about $43,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.