A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Given “Market Perform” Rating at Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer restated their market perform rating on shares of A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) in a research report report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com downgraded A. O. Smith from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $88.50.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 0.3 %

AOS stock opened at $86.69 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.76 billion, a PE ratio of 23.43, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.25. A. O. Smith has a 1-year low of $63.88 and a 1-year high of $89.96. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $85.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.05.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $988.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $985.89 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 14.45%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 34.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Idelle K. Wolf sold 814 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $65,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 46,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,691,200. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total transaction of $836,990.70. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 9,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $800,176.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Idelle K. Wolf sold 814 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $65,120.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 46,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,691,200. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,631 shares of company stock valued at $8,042,535 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 628.0% in the third quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 36.1% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 393.1% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 858 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the second quarter valued at approximately $66,000. 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.