A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.01 EPS

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The industrial products company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.01, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $978.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $995.91 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.45% and a return on equity of 31.05%. A. O. Smith's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. A. O. Smith updated its FY 2024 guidance to 3.900-4.150 EPS and its FY24 guidance to $3.90-$4.15 EPS.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 4.8 %

Shares of A. O. Smith stock traded down $4.15 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $82.85. 2,380,900 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 982,610. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.59. The company has a market cap of $12.20 billion, a PE ratio of 22.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $85.65 and a 200-day moving average of $79.75. A. O. Smith has a 12 month low of $63.88 and a 12 month high of $89.96.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was 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 $800,176.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 60,258 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.51, for a total transaction of $5,092,403.58. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 56,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,812,929.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,455 shares in the company, valued at $800,176.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 95,631 shares of company stock worth $8,042,535. 2.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on AOS. Citigroup upped their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. StockNews.com lowered A. O. Smith from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $88.50.

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.