Brokerages Set A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) PT at $77.00
by Danessa Lincoln · The Markets DailyA. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS – Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the ten research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $77.00.
A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $78.00 target price (up from $72.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $69.00 target price on A. O. Smith and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $85.00 target price on A. O. Smith and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 target price on A. O. Smith and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th.
View Our Latest Analysis on A. O. Smith
Insider Activity
In other news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 1,104 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total transaction of $82,126.56. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,201 shares in the company, valued at $163,732.39. This trade represents a 33.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith
Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 44.2% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 48,754 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,261,000 after purchasing an additional 14,942 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 174,440 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,684,000 after purchasing an additional 10,391 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,672 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $647,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth $336,000. Finally, Compound Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth $207,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.
A. O. Smith Price Performance
Shares of NYSE:AOS opened at $64.64 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $72.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.81. The stock has a market cap of $8.94 billion, a PE ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.50. A. O. Smith has a one year low of $58.83 and a one year high of $81.86.
A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $912.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $928.97 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 29.51% and a net margin of 14.26%.A. O. Smith’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that A. O. Smith will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.
A. O. Smith Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.31%.
A. O. Smith Company Profile
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.