A. O. Smith (AOS) Competitors

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) and Lennox International (NYSE:LII) are both building products companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, profitability, media sentiment, institutional ownership, risk and dividends.

Is AOS or LII more profitable?

Lennox International has a net margin of 14.96% compared to A. O. Smith's net margin of 13.74%. Lennox International's return on equity of 106.05% beat A. O. Smith's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
A. O. Smith	13.74%	28.39%	16.70%
Lennox International	14.96%	106.05%	23.90%

Which has better earnings and valuation, AOS or LII?

Lennox International has higher revenue and earnings than A. O. Smith. A. O. Smith is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lennox International, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
A. O. Smith	$3.82B	2.53	$533.60M	$3.58	19.01
Lennox International	$5.34B	4.00	$806.90M	$22.44	26.84

Which has more volatility and risk, AOS or LII?

A. O. Smith has a beta of 1.2, meaning that its share price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lennox International has a beta of 1.13, meaning that its share price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts prefer AOS or LII?

A. O. Smith currently has a consensus target price of $75.29, indicating a potential upside of 10.60%. Lennox International has a consensus target price of $586.31, indicating a potential downside of 2.65%. Given A. O. Smith's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe A. O. Smith is more favorable than Lennox International.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
A. O. Smith	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.29
Lennox International	4 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Does the media refer more to AOS or LII?

In the previous week, A. O. Smith had 14 more articles in the media than Lennox International. MarketBeat recorded 23 mentions for A. O. Smith and 9 mentions for Lennox International. Lennox International's average media sentiment score of 0.73 beat A. O. Smith's score of 0.66 indicating that Lennox International is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
A. O. Smith	11 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	9 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Lennox International	4 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is AOS or LII a better dividend stock?

A. O. Smith pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Lennox International pays an annual dividend of $5.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. A. O. Smith pays out 38.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Lennox International pays out 23.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. A. O. Smith has increased its dividend for 31 consecutive years and Lennox International has increased its dividend for 16 consecutive years. A. O. Smith is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in AOS or LII?

76.1% of A. O. Smith shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.1% of Lennox International shares are held by institutional investors. 0.8% of A. O. Smith shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.7% of Lennox International shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Lennox International beats A. O. Smith on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.