A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $77.4286.

Several brokerages have issued reports on AOS. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $76.00 price target (up previously from $74.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Monday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on A. O. Smith in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $67.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $9.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.85, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.30. A. O. Smith has a 1 year low of $58.83 and a 1 year high of $83.20. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.39.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $997.89 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.68% and a return on equity of 28.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.06 earnings per share. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.700-3.900 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Kevin J. Wheeler sold 22,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total value of $1,581,972.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 100,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,172,105.22. The trade was a 18.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of A. O. Smith

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AOS. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 143.7% in the second quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 446 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 44,400.0% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 74.8% in the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 458 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

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.