A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. DA Davidson cut shares of 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. UBS Group raised A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.17.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

AOS stock opened at $68.68 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company’s 50-day moving average is $71.87 and its 200-day moving average is $78.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.96 billion, a PE ratio of 18.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.18. A. O. Smith has a 1 year low of $67.17 and a 1 year high of $92.44.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.82. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 14.41%. The business had revenue of $957.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $960.36 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that A. O. Smith will post 3.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth $1,726,000. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 37.6% during 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 shares of A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,372,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in A. O. Smith by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,586,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $321,348,000 after buying an additional 52,593 shares during the period. Finally, FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth about $730,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

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.