A. O. Smith (AOS) Competitors

Lennox International (NYSE:LII) and A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) are both construction companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, media sentiment, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, community ranking, profitability and dividends.

Does the MarketBeat Community favor LII or AOS?

A. O. Smith received 79 more outperform votes than Lennox International when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 61.55% of users gave A. O. Smith an outperform vote while only 47.04% of users gave Lennox International an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Lennox International	Outperform Votes 390 47.04%	Underperform Votes 439 52.96%
A. O. Smith	Outperform Votes 469 61.55%	Underperform Votes 293 38.45%

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, LII or AOS?

Lennox International has higher revenue and earnings than A. O. Smith. A. O. Smith is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lennox International, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lennox International	$4.98B	4.33	$590.10M	$21.06	28.79
A. O. Smith	$3.85B	2.54	$556.60M	$3.80	17.73

Which has more volatility and risk, LII or AOS?

Lennox International has a beta of 1.11, suggesting that its stock price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, A. O. Smith has a beta of 1.18, suggesting that its stock price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media favor LII or AOS?

In the previous week, Lennox International had 7 more articles in the media than A. O. Smith. MarketBeat recorded 29 mentions for Lennox International and 22 mentions for A. O. Smith. A. O. Smith's average media sentiment score of 0.83 beat Lennox International's score of 0.69 indicating that A. O. Smith is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Lennox International	9 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	10 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
A. O. Smith	6 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	8 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of LII or AOS?

67.1% of Lennox International shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 76.1% of A. O. Smith shares are held by institutional investors. 10.4% of Lennox International shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.7% of A. O. Smith shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is LII or AOS more profitable?

Lennox International has a net margin of 14.63% compared to A. O. Smith's net margin of 14.41%. Lennox International's return on equity of 148.52% beat A. O. Smith's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lennox International	14.63%	148.52%	23.94%
A. O. Smith	14.41%	30.09%	17.83%

Do analysts rate LII or AOS?

Lennox International presently has a consensus price target of $602.57, indicating a potential downside of 0.61%. A. O. Smith has a consensus price target of $83.14, indicating a potential upside of 23.38%. Given A. O. Smith's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe A. O. Smith is more favorable than Lennox International.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lennox International	3 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.07
A. O. Smith	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.29

Is LII or AOS a better dividend stock?

Lennox International pays an annual dividend of $4.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. A. O. Smith pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Lennox International pays out 21.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. A. O. Smith pays out 35.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Lennox International has raised its dividend for 15 consecutive years and A. O. Smith has raised its dividend for 11 consecutive years.

Summary

Lennox International beats A. O. Smith on 13 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.