A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

AOS has been the subject of several other research reports. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Thursday, November 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $69.00 price target on A. O. Smith and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $85.00 price objective on A. O. Smith and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $78.00 target price (up from $72.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.00.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of AOS opened at $80.43 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $11.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.94. A. O. Smith has a 1 year low of $58.83 and a 1 year high of $81.86. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.26.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $912.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $928.97 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 29.51%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that A. O. Smith will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AOS. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $143,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 81.8% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 443,943 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,691,000 after buying an additional 199,692 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 50,698 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,393,000 after purchasing an additional 6,613 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 160.7% in the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 198,793 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,295,000 after buying an additional 122,542 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 32.7% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 249,890 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,713,000 after acquiring an additional 61,516 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

About A. O. Smith

A. O. Smith Corporation, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a leading manufacturer of water heating and water treatment products for residential and commercial applications. Since its founding in 1874, the company has built a reputation for producing reliable, energy-efficient water heaters, boilers and pressure vessels. Its product portfolio encompasses gas, electric, condensing and tankless water heaters, as well as specialty boilers designed to meet a variety of building and industrial needs.

The company operates through two primary segments: North America and Asia.