A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Receives Hold (C) Rating from Weiss Ratings

Weiss Ratings reiterated their hold (c) rating on shares of A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) in a research note released on Friday morning,Weiss Ratings reports.

AOS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.29.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of AOS opened at $65.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $9.33 billion, a PE ratio of 18.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.78. A. O. Smith has a 1-year low of $58.83 and a 1-year high of $92.45.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $963.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $950.56 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.74% and a return on equity of 28.39%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that A. O. Smith will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.99%.

Institutional Trading of A. O. Smith

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. National Pension Service lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 74.8% during the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 458 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 69.9% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 491 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 161.7% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 539 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 1st quarter worth approximately $48,000. 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.