A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Given New $91.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) had its price target boosted by Stifel Nicolaus from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a hold rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on AOS. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. Citigroup raised their price objective on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered A. O. Smith from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, A. O. Smith currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $88.50.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

AOS opened at $86.46 on Wednesday. A. O. Smith has a 12-month low of $63.88 and a 12-month high of $89.96. The stock has a market cap of $12.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.37, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50 day moving average of $84.98 and a 200-day moving average of $79.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $988.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that A. O. Smith will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Idelle K. Wolf sold 814 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $65,120.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 46,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,691,200. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Idelle K. Wolf sold 814 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $65,120.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 46,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,691,200. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 60,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.51, for a total value of $5,092,403.58. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 56,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,812,929.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,631 shares of company stock worth $8,042,535. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Atwater Malick LLC lifted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Atwater Malick LLC now owns 109,608 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,806,000 after buying an additional 1,767 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 17.1% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 31,789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,844,000 after purchasing an additional 4,636 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,994 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the period. Annex Advisory Services LLC increased its position in A. O. Smith by 20.8% in the 1st quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 205,447 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,379,000 after buying an additional 35,333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 1st quarter valued at about $215,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.