A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.32

A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, July 8th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be given a dividend of 0.32 per share by the industrial products company on Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st.

A. O. Smith has increased its dividend by an average of 7.6% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 30 years. A. O. Smith has a payout ratio of 29.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect A. O. Smith to earn $4.37 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.28 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 29.3%.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $84.50 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.90. A. O. Smith has a 12 month low of $64.14 and a 12 month high of $92.44. The stock has a market cap of $12.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.89, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.15.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on AOS. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Citigroup upped their target price 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. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Thursday, April 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.67.

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.