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 restated by equities researchers at Weiss Ratings in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday,Weiss Ratings reports.

AOS has been the subject of several other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $76.17.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

A. O. Smith stock traded down $4.43 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $64.14. 3,501,252 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,188,194. The company's fifty day moving average is $65.83 and its 200-day moving average is $68.17. The firm has a market cap of $9.11 billion, a PE ratio of 17.67, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.55. A. O. Smith has a 52 week low of $58.83 and a 52 week high of $92.45.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.05. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. The business had revenue of $963.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $950.56 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that A. O. Smith will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AOS. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,231,084 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $83,972,000 after purchasing an additional 12,305 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 27,825 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,898,000 after buying an additional 1,834 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 124.5% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,694 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $457,000 after buying an additional 3,712 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at $7,015,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 122,726 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $8,371,000 after purchasing an additional 17,442 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About A. O. Smith

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.