A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Meets Expectations

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The industrial products company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.82, Briefing.com reports. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 14.41%. The firm had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $960.36 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.90 EPS.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE AOS traded up $0.03 on Thursday, hitting $77.33. 851,448 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 965,012. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. A. O. Smith has a 1-year low of $65.08 and a 1-year high of $92.44. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $82.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.28 billion, a PE ratio of 20.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.15.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. This is a boost from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 33.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total transaction of $1,191,105.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $194,319. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group upgraded A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, DA Davidson downgraded A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.71.

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.