A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the six research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $76.17.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. National Pension Service grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 74.8% during the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 458 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 69.9% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 491 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 161.7% during the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 539 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth about $66,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the first quarter worth about $64,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AOS opened at $70.13 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $9.97 billion, a PE ratio of 19.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.28. The firm's fifty day moving average is $65.64 and its 200-day moving average is $68.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.55. A. O. Smith has a 52 week low of $58.83 and a 52 week high of $92.45.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.05. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. The business had revenue of $963.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $950.56 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. A. O. Smith's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that A. O. Smith will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.99%.

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.

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