A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the seven research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $83.17.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AOS. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. DA Davidson downgraded A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com cut A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AOS. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Quarry LP raised 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 worth $29,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of AOS traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $72.49. The company had a trading volume of 981,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 884,067. A. O. Smith has a 52-week low of $70.73 and a 52-week high of $92.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $76.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.58. The firm has a market cap of $10.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82. The business had revenue of $957.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $960.36 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 14.41%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that A. O. Smith will post 3.77 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. This is a positive change from A. O. Smith's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is presently 35.79%.

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.