A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $69.3333.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and set a $60.00 price objective (down from $65.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup dropped their target price on A. O. Smith from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings lowered A. O. Smith from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. DA Davidson set a $67.00 price objective on A. O. Smith and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $75.00 price objective on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, May 1st.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 4.1%

AOS stock opened at $57.79 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. A. O. Smith has a 12 month low of $54.16 and a 12 month high of $81.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $60.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.02.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.94 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $945.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $974.06 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 28.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.600-3.900 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith will post 3.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.30%.

Institutional Trading of A. O. Smith

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AOS. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its holdings in A. O. Smith by 3,125.0% in the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 387 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 3,481.8% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 394 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 67.9% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.