A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) PT Raised to $92.00

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) had its target price lifted by Robert W. Baird from $86.00 to $92.00 in a research report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com downgraded A. O. Smith from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a market perform rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $90.67.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

NYSE AOS opened at $84.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.65. The business’s fifty day moving average is $85.80 and its 200 day moving average is $80.09. The company has a market capitalization of $12.41 billion, a PE ratio of 21.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.25. A. O. Smith has a fifty-two week low of $63.88 and a fifty-two week high of $89.96.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.01. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.94% and a net margin of 14.94%. The company had revenue of $978.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $995.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that A. O. Smith will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 24,669 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.02, for a total transaction of $2,048,020.38. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 56,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,728,072.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 24,669 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.02, for a total value of $2,048,020.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 56,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,728,072.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 60,258 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.51, for a total transaction of $5,092,403.58. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,812,929.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 95,631 shares of company stock worth $8,042,535. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter valued at $108,176,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 71.2% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,173,179 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $96,716,000 after buying an additional 487,742 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 33.8% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,257,799 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $103,693,000 after buying an additional 317,389 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 94.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 548,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,350,000 after acquiring an additional 266,558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 460.9% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 264,514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,492,000 after acquiring an additional 217,356 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

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.