A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Downgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

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

AOS has been the topic of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Robert W. Baird lowered 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 research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of 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, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.67.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

NYSE:AOS traded down $0.75 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $81.65. The stock had a trading volume of 1,243,259 shares, compared to its average volume of 965,860. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.99. A. O. Smith has a 1-year low of $64.14 and a 1-year high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.04% and a net margin of 14.67%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.01 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In related news, Director Ronald D. Brown 3,631 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AOS. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 34,243 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,823,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 64,883 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,336,000 after buying an additional 9,278 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,644,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 44,773 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,691,000 after buying an additional 1,932 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,446 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $614,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.