A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Price Target Raised to $82.00 at Robert W. Baird

Key Points

• Robert W. Baird has raised the price target for A. O. Smith's stock from $76.00 to $82.00, indicating a potential upside of 10.81% based on current pricing.
• In its latest earnings report, A. O. Smith reported $1.07 earnings per share, surpassing the expected $0.97, although its revenue decreased by 1.3% year-over-year.
• Institutional investors currently hold 76.10% of A. O. Smith's stock, with several firms significantly increasing their positions in the company recently.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by equities research analysts at Robert W. Baird from $76.00 to $82.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the industrial products company's stock. Robert W. Baird's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 10.81% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on AOS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on A. O. Smith in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Citigroup dropped their price target on 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $76.57.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 3.7%

AOS opened at $74.00 on Friday. A. O. Smith has a fifty-two week low of $58.83 and a fifty-two week high of $92.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.61. The company has a market capitalization of $10.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $66.76 and a 200-day moving average of $66.74.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.10. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.39% and a net margin of 13.74%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $997.89 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.06 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that A. O. Smith will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in A. O. Smith by 143.7% in the second quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 446 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 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 worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. 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.

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