Stifel Nicolaus Lowers A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Price Target to $91.00

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) had its target price lowered by Stifel Nicolaus from $92.00 to $91.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

AOS has been the topic of a number of other reports. DA Davidson lowered A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.71.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE:AOS opened at $76.87 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.27 billion, a PE ratio of 19.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.15. A. O. Smith has a fifty-two week low of $65.20 and a fifty-two week high of $92.44. The company has a fifty day moving average of $82.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.34.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.82. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The firm had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $960.36 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a boost from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total value of $1,191,105.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $194,319. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 1st quarter valued at about $215,000. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 12.3% during the first quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,994 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 4,636 shares during the period. Atwater Malick LLC lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Atwater Malick LLC now owns 109,608 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,806,000 after acquiring an additional 1,767 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 38.1% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 10,286 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $920,000 after purchasing an additional 2,840 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.