A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) Stock Now Rated "Reduce" by Sell-Side Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts’ average rating is “Reduce”: Of 10 firms covering A. O. Smith, three rate it sell, six hold and one buy; the average 12-month price target is $66.
• A. O. Smith beat quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $0.93 versus $0.90 consensus, but revenue of $940.5 million fell short of estimates and was down 0.2% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend from $0.36 to $0.38 per share, equivalent to an annualized $1.52 and a 2.4% yield.

A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Reduce" from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $66.00.

AOS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $72.00 price target (down from $75.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "sell" rating and issued a $58.00 price objective on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, October 30th. Longbow Research lowered shares of A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Zacks Research lowered shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Monday, October 26th.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of AOS stock traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $64.17. The stock had a trading volume of 996,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,798,730. A. O. Smith has a 1-year low of $54.16 and a 1-year high of $81.86. The firm has a market cap of $8.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.88, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business's fifty day moving average is $59.77 and its 200-day moving average is $63.21.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $940.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $960.20 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 27.66% and a net margin of 13.01%. The company's revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith will post 3.47 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This is a positive change from A. O. Smith's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is currently 42.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other A. O. Smith news, Director Kevin Wheeler sold 14,675 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.64, for a total transaction of $963,267.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 128,348 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,424,762.72. This trade represents a 10.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in A. O. Smith by 10.4% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,168,894 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $143,017,000 after acquiring an additional 203,846 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,959,696 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $129,202,000 after purchasing an additional 64,873 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,425,759 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $94,014,000 after purchasing an additional 42,702 shares in the last quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $92,005,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,346,863 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $88,812,000 after purchasing an additional 5,175 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Company Profile

A. O. Smith Corporation is a manufacturer of water heating and water treatment products for residential, commercial and industrial customers. Its offerings include water heaters, boilers and related equipment, as well as products designed to filter and improve water quality. Founded in Milwaukee in 1874, the company has evolved from its early metal-manufacturing roots into a global water technology business. It serves customers primarily in North America and also operates in international markets, including China and India.

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