A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Price Target Lowered to $81.00 at Robert W. Baird

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) had its target price cut by Robert W. Baird from $82.00 to $81.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on AOS. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. DA Davidson cut shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $97.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.71.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE AOS opened at $76.87 on Wednesday. A. O. Smith has a 1 year low of $65.20 and a 1 year high of $92.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.27 billion, a PE ratio of 19.91, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The business’s 50-day moving average is $82.48 and its 200 day moving average is $83.34.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82. The firm had revenue of $957.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $960.36 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 14.41%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that A. O. Smith will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a boost from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total value of $1,191,105.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,399 shares in the company, valued at $194,319. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in A. O. Smith by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,007 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 12.5% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,227 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Algebris UK Ltd grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.3% during the first quarter. Algebris UK Ltd now owns 6,109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $506,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 2,989 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $413,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during 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.