A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $83.14.

Several research firms have issued reports on AOS. UBS Group upgraded A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer raised shares of 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. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, DA Davidson lowered shares of 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, October 23rd.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

NYSE:AOS opened at $71.06 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.43. A. O. Smith has a 1-year low of $67.17 and a 1-year high of $92.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.30 billion, a PE ratio of 18.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.18.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.82. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The company had revenue of $957.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $960.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that A. O. Smith will post 3.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth approximately $1,726,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in A. O. Smith by 37.6% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 185,768 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,409,000 after buying an additional 50,798 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter worth $1,372,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,586,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $321,348,000 after acquiring an additional 52,593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FORA Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at $730,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by 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.