A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Price Target Cut to $90.00 by Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by investment analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $91.00 to $90.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "hold" rating on the industrial products company's stock. Stifel Nicolaus' price objective indicates a potential upside of 8.24% from the company's previous close.

AOS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Oppenheimer reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on A. O. Smith from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com cut A. O. Smith from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, A. O. Smith presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $90.67.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 0.4 %

AOS traded up $0.33 on Friday, hitting $83.15. 1,316,242 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 986,730. The stock's fifty day moving average is $85.71 and its 200-day moving average is $79.85. A. O. Smith has a 12 month low of $63.88 and a 12 month high of $89.96. 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 $12.24 billion, a PE ratio of 22.47, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.25.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $978.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $995.91 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 14.45%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that A. O. Smith will post 4.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $800,176.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other A. O. Smith 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 sale, 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 at this link. Also, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 60,258 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 95,631 shares of company stock worth $8,042,535. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AOS. Norges Bank acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth approximately $108,176,000. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 71.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,173,179 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $96,716,000 after buying an additional 487,742 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 33.8% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,257,799 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $103,693,000 after buying an additional 317,389 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 94.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 548,939 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $36,350,000 after acquiring an additional 266,558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 460.9% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 264,514 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $17,492,000 after acquiring an additional 217,356 shares in 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.