A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Downgraded by StockNews.com to "Hold"

StockNews.com downgraded shares of A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on AOS. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer raised shares of A. O. Smith from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $88.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup cut their target price on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $83.14.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AOS traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $71.06. 1,702,427 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,222,614. The company has a market capitalization of $10.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.70, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.18. A. O. Smith has a 1 year low of $67.17 and a 1 year high of $92.44. 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 company's 50-day moving average is $71.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.43.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.82. The business had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith will post 3.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Quarry LP lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.