A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. UBS Group raised A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson cut shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.14.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of AOS opened at $72.88 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $76.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.74. The stock has a market cap of $10.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.67. A. O. Smith has a one year low of $70.73 and a one year high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82. The company had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $960.36 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 30.09%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that A. O. Smith will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,721,581 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $693,630,000 after acquiring an additional 299,766 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 3,852,467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $315,055,000 after purchasing an additional 400,304 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,586,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $321,348,000 after buying an additional 52,593 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,302,659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $206,848,000 after buying an additional 87,458 shares during the period. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,046,798 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $167,387,000 after acquiring an additional 72,856 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Company Profile

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.