Analysts Set A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Price Target at $80.86

Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the seven analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $80.86.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AOS. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson lowered shares of A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price target on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,007 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 214.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 1.4% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 13,844 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,132,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 25,904 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,119,000 after buying an additional 649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter worth $1,372,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of AOS stock traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $65.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,238,955 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,525,223. The stock has a market cap of $9.50 billion, a PE ratio of 18.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.17. A. O. Smith has a 12-month low of $64.94 and a 12-month high of $92.44. The company has a 50 day moving average of $70.04 and a 200 day moving average of $76.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that A. O. Smith will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.47%.

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.