A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $70.00 price target on A. O. Smith in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Oppenheimer set a $75.00 target price on A. O. Smith and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Citigroup decreased their target price on A. O. Smith from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $67.00 price target on shares of A. O. Smith and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.75.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AOS opened at $63.62 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. A. O. Smith has a 12 month low of $54.16 and a 12 month high of $81.86. The company has a market capitalization of $8.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.67, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $60.36 and its 200 day moving average is $64.92.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $994.89 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.15% and a return on equity of 27.88%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.07 earnings per share. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.700-3.850 EPS. Research analysts predict that A. O. Smith will post 3.74 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 40.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AOS. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 3,481.8% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 394 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in A. O. Smith by 67.9% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Company Profile

A. O. Smith Corporation, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a leading manufacturer of water heating and water treatment products for residential and commercial applications. Since its founding in 1874, the company has built a reputation for producing reliable, energy-efficient water heaters, boilers and pressure vessels. Its product portfolio encompasses gas, electric, condensing and tankless water heaters, as well as specialty boilers designed to meet a variety of building and industrial needs.

The company operates through two primary segments: North America and Asia.