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

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) had its price target trimmed by Citigroup from $85.00 to $78.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented 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 report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, DA Davidson cut A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.29.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of AOS stock opened at $73.89 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $10.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.44, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s fifty day moving average is $77.41 and its 200 day moving average is $80.88. A. O. Smith has a twelve month low of $70.73 and a twelve month 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 released its 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 return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 14.41%. The business had revenue of $957.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $960.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that A. O. Smith will post 3.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a positive change from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 35.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 7.2% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,007 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $164,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 19.8% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 12.5% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,227 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 5.0% in the third quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 2,989 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $269,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 5.1% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.