A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Hits New 12-Month Low - What's Next?

Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $63.02 and last traded at $63.63, with a volume of 104260 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $66.12.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup reduced their price target on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock's fifty day moving average is $66.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last issued 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%. On average, analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $27,507.35. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares of the company's stock, valued at $180,471.85. This represents a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $67,356.90. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares of the company's stock, valued at $583,562.85. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AOS. FMR LLC raised its position in A. O. Smith by 180.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 125,384 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $11,263,000 after purchasing an additional 80,632 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 10.8% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,149 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $463,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 72.8% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 14,003 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,258,000 after purchasing an additional 5,900 shares in the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC increased its position in A. O. Smith by 30.7% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,679 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 864 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 6.9% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 22,255 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,999,000 after buying an additional 1,431 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

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.