A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Upgraded to Neutral at UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. UBS Group currently has $80.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $75.00.

A number of other research firms have also commented on AOS. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $97.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.71.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

A. O. Smith stock opened at $77.28 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $82.59 and a 200-day moving average of $83.48. 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 1 year low of $65.08 and a 1 year high of $92.44. The company has a market capitalization of $11.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.15.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.82. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.67% and a return on equity of 31.04%. The firm had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $960.36 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that A. O. Smith will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This is a boost from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is 32.99%.

Insider Activity

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $194,319. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 18.6% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 30,543 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,766,000 after purchasing an additional 4,783 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at $215,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth $24,060,000. Lafayette Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc. now owns 41,980 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,771,000 after acquiring an additional 1,732 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at about $3,123,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

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.