A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Hits New 52-Week Low - What's Next?

A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $67.41 and last traded at $67.59, with a volume of 66785 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $68.43.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AOS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson lowered A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped 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 report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut 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 note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $83.17.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 0.6 %

The business's fifty day simple moving average is $73.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.68. The company has a market cap of $9.86 billion, a PE ratio of 17.90, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.82. The firm 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. On average, analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a positive change from A. O. Smith's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 214.9% in the 2nd 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 stake in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.