Wall Street Zen Downgrades A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) to Hold

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen has downgraded A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating, affecting investor sentiment.
• The current consensus rating for A. O. Smith is "Hold," with a price target of $77.43, amidst varied ratings from other analysts.
• A. O. Smith's stock gained 1.5% to $72.48, while the company reported a quarterly EPS of $1.07, exceeding expectations but showing a 1.3% revenue decrease year-over-year.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on AOS. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on A. O. Smith in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Oppenheimer increased their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $76.00 target price (up from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $77.43.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of AOS traded up $1.08 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $72.48. 637,201 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,021,843. A. O. Smith has a 1 year low of $58.83 and a 1 year high of $92.06. The firm's fifty day moving average is $71.97 and its 200-day moving average is $68.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.25.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $997.89 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.42% and a net margin of 13.68%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.06 EPS. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.700-3.900 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other A. O. Smith news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total transaction of $1,581,972.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 100,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,172,105.22. The trade was a 18.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 9.7% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 178,543 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $11,670,000 after purchasing an additional 15,769 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 41.6% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,089 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 2,084 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 75.8% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 402,039 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $26,277,000 after purchasing an additional 173,366 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 18.3% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 8,085 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 1,251 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.3% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,532 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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