A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.34

A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, July 7th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of 0.34 per share by the industrial products company on Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st.

A. O. Smith has a dividend payout ratio of 32.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect A. O. Smith to earn $4.20 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.36 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 32.4%.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AOS traded up $0.97 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $70.47. 1,588,150 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,302,298. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. A. O. Smith has a 12 month low of $58.83 and a 12 month high of $92.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.20. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $66.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.63.

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. The business had revenue of $963.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $950.56 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.39% and a net margin of 13.74%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that A. O. Smith will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AOS. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on A. O. Smith in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, June 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $75.29.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in A. O. Smith stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 19.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 939,302 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 154,201 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 0.66% of A. O. Smith worth $61,393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. 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.