A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the eight analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $86.71.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group raised A. O. Smith from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson downgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

NYSE:AOS traded up $0.34 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $71.75. 849,418 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 972,140. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm's 50-day moving average is $80.19 and its 200-day moving average is $81.99. The stock has a market cap of $10.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.17. A. O. Smith has a 1-year low of $70.73 and a 1-year high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 14.41%. The firm had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $960.36 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that A. O. Smith will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This is a positive change from A. O. Smith's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is 35.79%.

Institutional Trading of A. O. Smith

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AOS. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 214.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company's stock.

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.