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

Key Points

• A. O. Smith's stock has received a consistent "Hold (C+)" rating from Weiss Ratings, with a consensus average price target of $77.00.
• Despite a quarterly earnings report beating expectations with an EPS of $1.07, the company reported a 1.3% year-over-year decline in revenue.
• Insider trading occurred recently as Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares, reducing his ownership stake by 18.07%.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c+)" rating reiterated by analysts at Weiss Ratings in a report released on Friday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 18th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $76.00 price target (up from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Monday, July 28th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $77.00.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

AOS traded up $0.13 during trading on Friday, hitting $69.17. 356,850 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,420,625. A. O. Smith has a twelve month low of $58.83 and a twelve month high of $78.25. The company has a market cap of $9.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $71.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.66.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 13.68% and a return on equity of 28.42%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $997.89 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.06 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In related news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total value of $1,581,972.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 100,647 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,172,105.22. The trade was a 18.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of A. O. Smith

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Forum Financial Management LP bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth $212,000. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 29.8% in the third quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 13,052 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $958,000 after purchasing an additional 2,997 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 27.8% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 101,087 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $7,421,000 after purchasing an additional 22,019 shares during the last quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.1% in the third quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 9,181 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $674,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth $218,000. 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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