Stifel Nicolaus Issues Pessimistic Forecast for A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Stock Price

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) had its price objective decreased by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $91.00 to $90.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target points to a potential upside of 23.94% from the company’s previous close.

AOS has been the topic of a number of other reports. DA Davidson downgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup cut their price objective on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. UBS Group raised A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.17.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $72.62 on Wednesday. A. O. Smith has a 1 year low of $70.73 and a 1 year high of $92.44. The firm has a market cap of $10.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.11, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $76.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.68. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $960.36 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith will post 3.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,025 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the second quarter worth approximately $232,000. Welch Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the second quarter worth approximately $225,000. Kessler Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.5% during the second quarter. Kessler Investment Group LLC now owns 5,087 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in A. O. Smith by 29.9% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,245 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.