Stifel Nicolaus Trims A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Target Price to $90.00

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) had its target price decreased by Stifel Nicolaus from $91.00 to $90.00 in a report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a hold rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Oppenheimer reiterated a market perform rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com cut A. O. Smith from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on A. O. Smith from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $90.67.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of AOS stock opened at $84.31 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $85.80 and its 200 day moving average is $80.09. A. O. Smith has a 52-week low of $63.88 and a 52-week high of $89.96. The company has a market capitalization of $12.41 billion, a PE ratio of 21.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.65.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.01. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.94% and a return on equity of 30.94%. The company had revenue of $978.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $995.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. A. O. Smith’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith will post 4.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 33.16%.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In related news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $800,176.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total value of $836,990.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 9,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $800,176.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 60,258 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were 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 owns 56,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,812,929.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 95,631 shares of company stock worth $8,042,535. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AOS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $108,176,000. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 71.2% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,173,179 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $96,716,000 after purchasing an additional 487,742 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 33.8% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,257,799 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $103,693,000 after purchasing an additional 317,389 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 94.4% in the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 548,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,350,000 after purchasing an additional 266,558 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in A. O. Smith by 460.9% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 264,514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,492,000 after purchasing an additional 217,356 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by 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.