A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Price Target Raised to $90.00

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) had its price objective hoisted by Jefferies Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered A. O. Smith from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $86.67.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $85.15 on Friday. A. O. Smith has a 12 month low of $63.88 and a 12 month high of $89.96. 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 $12.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.01, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50-day moving average of $84.70 and a 200-day moving average of $78.81.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.01. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 14.45%. The company had revenue of $988.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $985.89 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. A. O. Smith’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that A. O. Smith will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is currently 34.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 24,669 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.02, for a total transaction of $2,048,020.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 56,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,728,072.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 24,669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.02, for a total value of $2,048,020.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 56,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,728,072.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 60,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.51, for a total transaction of $5,092,403.58. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 56,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,812,929.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 95,631 shares of company stock valued at $8,042,535 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth about $1,258,000. Trust Point Inc. bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth about $4,047,000. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 37,768 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,498,000 after acquiring an additional 3,065 shares in the last quarter. FCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 138.7% in the 4th quarter. FCF Advisors LLC now owns 22,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,833,000 after acquiring an additional 12,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 10,836 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $894,000 after acquiring an additional 1,325 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Company Profile

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.