A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Sets New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $65.29 and last traded at $65.16, with a volume of 60637 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $65.66.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AOS shares. UBS Group dropped their target price on A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup reduced their price target on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. DA Davidson downgraded A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 0.3 %

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $9.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.17.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. As a group, research analysts expect that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.47%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in A. O. Smith in the third quarter valued at about $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.