A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $72.63 and last traded at $72.77, with a volume of 66061 shares. The stock had previously closed at $73.14.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on AOS shares. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson downgraded 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.71.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 0.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.67. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $80.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.32. The company has a market capitalization of $10.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.22, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.17.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The business had revenue of $957.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $960.36 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. Research analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This is a boost from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.79%.

Institutional Trading of A. O. Smith

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 214.9% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.