Stifel Nicolaus Issues Pessimistic Forecast for A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Stock Price

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) had its price target lowered by equities researchers at Stifel Nicolaus from $90.00 to $84.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 24.80% from the stock’s current price.

AOS has been the subject of several other reports. UBS Group upgraded A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. DA Davidson downgraded A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded A. O. Smith from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $88.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $82.29.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AOS traded up $0.34 during trading on Friday, hitting $67.31. 448,259 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,348,907. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.18. The business’s fifty day moving average is $70.84 and its 200-day moving average is $77.53. A. O. Smith has a one year low of $65.53 and a one year high of $92.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 30.09%. As a group, equities analysts predict that A. O. Smith will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AOS. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 65.3% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 4,649 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $380,000 after acquiring an additional 1,836 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 98,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,029,000 after purchasing an additional 807 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,007 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 214.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Finally, Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 13,844 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

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.