A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Given New $78.00 Price Target at Citigroup

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) had its target price lowered by Citigroup from $85.00 to $78.00 in a research note released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

AOS has been the topic of a number of other reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. DA Davidson cut A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group raised A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.29.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

A. O. Smith stock opened at $73.89 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.44, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16. A. O. Smith has a 52-week low of $70.73 and a 52-week high of $92.44. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $77.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.67.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 14.41%. The firm had revenue of $957.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $960.36 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that A. O. Smith will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This is an increase from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.79%.

Institutional Trading of A. O. Smith

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AOS. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $228,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 222.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 25,255 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,259,000 after purchasing an additional 17,411 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in A. O. Smith by 37.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 185,768 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,409,000 after purchasing an additional 50,798 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,372,000. Finally, FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $730,000. Institutional investors 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.