A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Announces Earnings Results, Hits Expectations

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The industrial products company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $960.36 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.67% and a return on equity of 31.04%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.90 EPS.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of AOS stock traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $78.12. The stock had a trading volume of 361,767 shares, compared to its average volume of 960,519. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.07. A. O. Smith has a 12-month low of $65.08 and a 12-month high of $92.44. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $82.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.52.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is an increase from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AOS shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $97.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird cut 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 research report on Wednesday. DA Davidson lowered shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $87.71.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In other news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total value of $1,191,105.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $194,319. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.