A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Lifted to “Neutral” at UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. UBS Group currently has $80.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $75.00.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on AOS. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $97.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.71.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 0.6 %

A. O. Smith stock opened at $76.87 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $82.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.15. A. O. Smith has a 52 week low of $65.20 and a 52 week high of $92.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.67.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 EPS 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. Research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This is an increase from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total transaction of $1,191,105.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,399 shares in the company, valued at $194,319. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 11.3% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 225,930 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,212,000 after purchasing an additional 22,859 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the second quarter valued at $228,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 222.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 25,255 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,259,000 after acquiring an additional 17,411 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in A. O. Smith by 84.8% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 51,518 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,609,000 after purchasing an additional 23,640 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 119.8% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,914,000 after purchasing an additional 11,663 shares during 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 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.