The Goldman Sachs Group Lowers A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Price Target to $61.00

Key Points

• The Goldman Sachs Group cut its price target on A. O. Smith to $61 (from $69) and maintains a "sell" rating, implying roughly an 8.5% downside from the current share price.
• Analysts' consensus remains a "Hold" with a $75.67 average target; A. O. Smith recently beat EPS estimates ($0.90 vs. $0.84) but missed revenue expectations, with shares trading around $66.65 and institutional ownership near 76% after sizable buys by firms like Norges Bank and Vanguard.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $69.00 to $61.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "sell" rating on the industrial products company's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's price objective would indicate a potential downside of 8.47% from the stock's current price.

AOS has been the subject of a number of other reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 target price on A. O. Smith and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $77.00 target price on A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $85.00 price objective on A. O. Smith and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $75.67.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AOS traded up $0.73 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $66.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 470,539 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,405,942. A. O. Smith has a fifty-two week low of $61.35 and a fifty-two week high of $81.86. The company has a market capitalization of $9.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $71.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.63.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.06. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 29.51% and a net margin of 14.26%.The company had revenue of $912.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $928.97 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that A. O. Smith will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 1,104 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total value of $82,126.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 2,201 shares in the company, valued at $163,732.39. This trade represents a 33.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AOS. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth about $97,101,000. Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth about $80,885,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 54.2% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,208,831 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $235,560,000 after buying an additional 1,128,543 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 220.4% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,022,299 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $68,371,000 after buying an additional 703,186 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,096,018 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,009,622,000 after buying an additional 683,176 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About A. O. Smith

A. O. Smith Corporation, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a leading manufacturer of water heating and water treatment products for residential and commercial applications. Since its founding in 1874, the company has built a reputation for producing reliable, energy-efficient water heaters, boilers and pressure vessels. Its product portfolio encompasses gas, electric, condensing and tankless water heaters, as well as specialty boilers designed to meet a variety of building and industrial needs.

The company operates through two primary segments: North America and Asia.

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