A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the eight brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $76.7143.

AOS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on A. O. Smith from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 18th. Robert W. Baird set a $76.00 price objective on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

NYSE AOS opened at $65.98 on Friday. A. O. Smith has a 1 year low of $58.83 and a 1 year high of $77.31. The business’s fifty day moving average is $68.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.54.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The industrial products company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $942.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $946.33 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 13.85%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.700-3.850 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. This is a positive change from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 38.81%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the second quarter worth $91,939,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 998.6% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,348,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $88,121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,521 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 655.5% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 710,716 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,602,000 after purchasing an additional 616,638 shares in the last quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec increased its position in A. O. Smith by 530.1% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 633,407 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,498,000 after purchasing an additional 532,875 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 521.1% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 581,070 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,101,000 after purchasing an additional 487,513 shares in the last quarter. 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.