A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Price Target Cut to $91.00

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) had its target price reduced by Stifel Nicolaus from $92.00 to $91.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the industrial products company's stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on AOS. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, DA Davidson cut A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $86.71.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

AOS stock traded down $0.93 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $77.28. 1,396,278 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 965,566. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.27 billion, a PE ratio of 20.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a 50-day moving average of $82.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.52. A. O. Smith has a 52 week low of $65.08 and a 52 week high of $92.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

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, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.82. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.67% and a return on equity of 31.04%. The company had revenue of $957.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $960.36 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that A. O. Smith will post 3.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid 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 of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.99%.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In other news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total transaction of $1,191,105.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,399 shares of the company's stock, valued at $194,319. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of A. O. Smith

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 11.3% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 225,930 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $20,212,000 after acquiring an additional 22,859 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter valued at about $228,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 222.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 25,255 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,259,000 after purchasing an additional 17,411 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 84.8% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 51,518 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,609,000 after buying an additional 23,640 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 119.8% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,400 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,914,000 after buying an additional 11,663 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.