StockNews.com Downgrades A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) to Hold

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $97.00 to $98.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.67.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 1.0 %

A. O. Smith stock opened at $88.94 on Monday. A. O. Smith has a 12 month low of $64.86 and a 12 month high of $92.44. The stock has a market cap of $13.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $82.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1 billion. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.04% and a net margin of 14.67%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.01 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that A. O. Smith will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total value of $1,191,105.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $194,319. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Select Equity Group L.P. increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 11.6% in the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 3,852,467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $315,055,000 after purchasing an additional 400,304 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 33.8% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,257,799 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $103,693,000 after buying an additional 317,389 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the second quarter worth $22,288,000. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 37.2% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 623,357 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $51,390,000 after acquiring an additional 168,911 shares during the period. Finally, Distillate Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 100,431.5% in the second quarter. Distillate Capital Partners LLC now owns 162,861 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,319,000 after acquiring an additional 162,699 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.