Weiss Ratings Reaffirms Hold (C) Rating for A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS)

Weiss Ratings restated their hold (c) rating on shares of A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) in a research note released on Saturday morning,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on AOS. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group decreased their price target on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.17.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE AOS opened at $68.26 on Friday. A. O. Smith has a 1-year low of $58.83 and a 1-year high of $92.45. The company has a market capitalization of $9.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.80, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.28. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $65.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $963.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $950.56 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. A. O. Smith’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that A. O. Smith will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,231,084 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $83,972,000 after purchasing an additional 12,305 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 27,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,898,000 after buying an additional 1,834 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 124.5% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,694 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $457,000 after buying an additional 3,712 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,015,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 122,726 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,371,000 after acquiring an additional 17,442 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.