A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $69.8889.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AOS shares. Zacks Research downgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup dropped their target price on A. O. Smith from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Robert W. Baird set a $70.00 target price on A. O. Smith in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $75.00 target price on A. O. Smith in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and set a $60.00 target price (down from $65.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Friday, May 15th.

Key Stories Impacting A. O. Smith

Here are the key news stories impacting A. O. Smith this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research cut A. O. Smith’s FY2026 EPS estimate to $3.79 from $4.01, signaling weaker expected full-year profitability. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The firm also lowered FY2027 EPS to $4.12 from $4.37 and FY2028 EPS to $4.61 from $4.87, suggesting softer longer-term earnings growth expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly estimates were trimmed across several periods, including Q2 2026 ($1.01 vs. $1.10), Q3 2026 ($0.96 vs. $0.99), Q1 2027 ($0.98 vs. $1.04), Q2 2027 ($1.09 vs. $1.20), Q3 2027 ($1.04 vs. $1.09), and Q4 2027 ($1.01 vs. $1.05), reinforcing the bearish tone.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research kept a Strong Sell rating on AOS, which adds to sentiment headwinds but does not by itself change fundamentals.
• Neutral Sentiment: The new estimates are still close to the current consensus FY2026 EPS of $3.78, so the market may be focused more on the downgrade trend than on a dramatic forecast miss.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 1,104 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total value of $82,126.56. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $163,732.39. This trade represents a 33.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AOS. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 19.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 939,302 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $61,393,000 after buying an additional 154,201 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 78.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 963 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the second quarter worth $5,212,000. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 11.4% in the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 211,176 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,847,000 after buying an additional 21,657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 165.3% in the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 32,874 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,156,000 after buying an additional 20,485 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

A. O. Smith stock opened at $57.34 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.25, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.93. A. O. Smith has a 12 month low of $54.16 and a 12 month high of $81.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.94 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $945.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $974.06 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.42% and a net margin of 13.84%.The company’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.600-3.900 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that A. O. Smith will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.30%.

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.