A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $67.06 and last traded at $67.64, with a volume of 8919 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $69.22.
The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 30.09%.
A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is 35.79%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AOS shares. UBS Group cut their price target on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. DA Davidson downgraded A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. 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 report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $80.86.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on A. O. Smith
Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith
A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its position in A. O. Smith by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 4,691 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 10,419 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $711,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 684.3% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 138,991 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $9,462,000 after buying an additional 121,270 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 18,966 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,277,000 after buying an additional 596 shares during the period. Finally, PUREfi Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter worth approximately $252,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.
A. O. Smith Price Performance
The stock has a 50 day moving average of $70.71 and a 200-day moving average of $77.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.18.
About A. O. Smith
(
Get Free Report)
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.
Featured Stories
Before you consider A. O. Smith, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and A. O. Smith wasn't on the list.
While A. O. Smith currently has a "Hold" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Enter your email address and we'll send you MarketBeat's list of seven best retirement stocks and why they should be in your portfolio.
Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.
