Weiss Ratings Reiterates Hold (C) Rating for A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS)

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS)‘s stock had its “hold (c)” rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at Weiss Ratings in a research report issued on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup dropped their price target on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. DA Davidson cut A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of AOS stock opened at $67.43 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $68.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.57. The company has a market cap of $9.78 billion, a PE ratio of 18.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.17. A. O. Smith has a fifty-two week low of $64.55 and a fifty-two week high of $92.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.55.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. Equities analysts predict that A. O. Smith will post 3.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $27,507.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,471.85. The trade was a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $67,356.90. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $583,562.85. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 648.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 45,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,072,000 after purchasing an additional 39,276 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $268,000. TFG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $216,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,123,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.