Zacks Research Lowers Earnings Estimates for A. O. Smith

Key Points

• Zacks Research lowered its Q4 2026 EPS estimate for A. O. Smith to $0.96 from $0.97 and kept a Strong Sell rating on the stock.
• A. O. Smith recently missed quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.85 versus the $0.94 consensus, while revenue came in at $945.6 million versus $974.1 million expected.
• Wall Street sentiment remains cautious overall, with the stock carrying a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $69.89, even as the company continues paying a quarterly dividend of $0.36.

A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Zacks Research reduced their Q4 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for A. O. Smith in a report issued on Thursday, May 21st. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the industrial products company will earn $0.96 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.97. Zacks Research currently has a "Strong Sell" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for A. O. Smith's current full-year earnings is $3.78 per share.

AOS has been the subject of several other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $75.00 target price on A. O. Smith in a research report on Friday, May 1st. DA Davidson set a $67.00 price target on A. O. Smith and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut A. O. Smith from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on A. O. Smith from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $69.89.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $58.32 on Wednesday. A. O. Smith has a 1-year low of $54.16 and a 1-year high of $81.86. The business has a 50-day moving average of $62.69 and a 200-day moving average of $67.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $8.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.51, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.94 by ($0.09). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.42% and a net margin of 13.84%.The company had revenue of $945.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $974.06 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. A. O. Smith's quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.600-3.900 EPS.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. A. O. Smith's payout ratio is 38.30%.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 1,104 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total transaction of $82,126.56. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,201 shares in the company, valued at $163,732.39. This represents a 33.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of A. O. Smith

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AOS. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $97,101,000. Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $80,885,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 54.2% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,208,831 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $235,560,000 after buying an additional 1,128,543 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 220.4% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,022,299 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $68,371,000 after buying an additional 703,186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,096,018 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,009,622,000 after buying an additional 683,176 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Company Profile

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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