A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Declares $0.34 Quarterly Dividend

A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, April 7th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of 0.34 per share by the industrial products company on Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th.

A. O. Smith has raised its dividend payment by an average of 7.0% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 31 years. A. O. Smith has a payout ratio of 32.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect A. O. Smith to earn $4.20 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.36 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 32.4%.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 2.5 %

NYSE AOS traded up $1.59 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $64.46. 1,588,907 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,117,887. The firm has a market cap of $9.28 billion, a PE ratio of 17.76, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96. A. O. Smith has a 52-week low of $58.83 and a 52-week high of $92.45. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.39.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In other news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares of the company's stock, valued at $180,471.85. This represents a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $67,356.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,562.85. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AOS. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $80.86.

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.