A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Earns “Hold (C)” Rating from Weiss Ratings

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS)‘s stock had its “hold (c)” rating reissued by analysts at Weiss Ratings in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup reduced their price target on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of A. O. Smith stock opened at $66.81 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $9.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.40, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $68.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. A. O. Smith has a twelve month low of $64.55 and a twelve month high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. Equities research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith will post 3.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $67,356.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $583,562.85. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,471.85. This represents a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth $1,726,000. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth $730,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in A. O. Smith by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,586,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $321,348,000 after purchasing an additional 52,593 shares during the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC grew its position in A. O. Smith by 89.3% during the 3rd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 36,206 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,252,000 after purchasing an additional 17,079 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in A. O. Smith by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,302,659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $206,848,000 after purchasing an additional 87,458 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently 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.