A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) PT Raised to $90.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "hold" rating on the industrial products company's stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price target would indicate a potential upside of 4.05% from the company's previous close.

AOS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of A. O. Smith from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $86.67.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of AOS traded up $0.35 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $86.50. The stock had a trading volume of 1,172,481 shares, compared to its average volume of 948,157. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. A. O. Smith has a 52 week low of $63.88 and a 52 week high of $89.96. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $84.38 and a 200 day moving average of $78.35. The company has a market cap of $12.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.25.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.01. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.45% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business had revenue of $988.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $985.89 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.86 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that A. O. Smith will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total transaction of $836,990.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $800,176.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $800,176.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 60,258 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.51, for a total transaction of $5,092,403.58. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 56,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,812,929.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,631 shares of company stock worth $8,042,535 in the last three months. Insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 628.0% in the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 597 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 36.1% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 712 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 393.1% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 858 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares during the period. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter valued at about $66,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.