A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Earns Hold (C) Rating from Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• A. O. Smith's stock has been assigned a "hold (C)" rating by Weiss Ratings, reflecting a cautious outlook on the company's performance.
• The company reported an EPS of $1.07 for the last quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.97, despite a year-over-year revenue decline of 1.3%.
• Recent analyst reports show that the average target price for A. O. Smith shares is currently $77.43, with a mix of hold and buy ratings from several investment firms.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c)" rating reissued by Weiss Ratings in a research report issued on Tuesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

AOS has been the subject of several other research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. 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. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.43.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $71.66 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $66.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.80. A. O. Smith has a 1-year low of $58.83 and a 1-year high of $92.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market cap of $10.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.96, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.20.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.10. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.42% and a net margin of 13.68%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $997.89 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.06 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,404,259 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $941,462,000 after acquiring an additional 286,316 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 67.3% during the first quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 5,188,561 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $339,124,000 after purchasing an additional 2,086,433 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in A. O. Smith by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,011,496 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $327,551,000 after purchasing an additional 307,201 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in A. O. Smith by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,698,517 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $251,751,000 after purchasing an additional 111,612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,618,191 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $178,587,000 after buying an additional 417,595 shares during the last quarter. 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.

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