A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Given "Hold (C)" Rating at Weiss Ratings

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

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. UBS Group decreased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $84.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup cut 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $76.17.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE AOS traded up $0.98 during trading on Thursday, reaching $68.00. 2,030,452 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,133,137. A. O. Smith has a twelve month low of $58.83 and a twelve month high of $92.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market capitalization of $9.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26. The business's 50-day moving average price is $65.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.43.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 analysts' expectations of $950.56 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that A. O. Smith will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $180,471.85. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $67,356.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,562.85. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,117,943 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $962,985,000 after buying an additional 148,432 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 67.3% during the 1st quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 5,188,561 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $339,124,000 after acquiring an additional 2,086,433 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,704,295 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $320,880,000 after purchasing an additional 995,043 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in A. O. Smith by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,698,517 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $251,751,000 after purchasing an additional 111,612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,618,191 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $178,587,000 after purchasing an additional 417,595 shares during the period. 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.