A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Earns "Hold (C)" Rating from Weiss Ratings

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c)" rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on AOS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $75.29.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 3.3%

Shares of NYSE:AOS traded up $2.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $67.71. The company had a trading volume of 1,437,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,292,815. A. O. Smith has a 1-year low of $58.83 and a 1-year high of $92.45. The stock has a market cap of $9.62 billion, a PE ratio of 18.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business's 50 day moving average price is $66.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.66.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.05. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.39% and a net margin of 13.74%. The firm had revenue of $963.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $950.56 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 67.3% during the 1st quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 5,188,561 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $339,124,000 after purchasing an additional 2,086,433 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at about $96,180,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in A. O. Smith by 998.6% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,348,247 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $88,121,000 after buying an additional 1,225,521 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the 1st quarter worth $74,180,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 26.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,704,295 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $320,880,000 after acquiring an additional 995,043 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.