A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Receives "Hold (C)" Rating from Weiss Ratings

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c)" rating restated by equities researchers at Weiss Ratings in a report released on Thursday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on AOS. StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lowered 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. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $84.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $76.50.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE AOS traded down $0.25 on Thursday, hitting $65.05. 1,298,804 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,124,104. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $65.30 and a 200 day moving average of $69.68. A. O. Smith has a twelve month low of $58.83 and a twelve month high of $92.45. The company has a market capitalization of $9.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. As a group, analysts expect that A. O. Smith will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $583,562.85. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the business'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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,471.85. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 3.3% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,532 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,873 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. RMR Wealth Builders boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 4,898 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 34,838 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,376,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.8% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 13,831 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $903,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. 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.