A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Downgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $97.00 to $98.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Citigroup raised their price objective on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. UBS Group raised their price objective on A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.67.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

Shares of AOS traded down $0.75 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $81.65. 1,243,259 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 965,860. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.91 billion, a PE ratio of 21.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.15. A. O. Smith has a fifty-two week low of $64.14 and a fifty-two week high of $92.44. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.99.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.01). A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.67% and a return on equity of 31.04%. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that A. O. Smith will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at A. O. Smith

In other news, Director Ronald D. Brown 3,631 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of A. O. Smith

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 157.2% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 665.0% during the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. Twin Tree Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 188.9% during the first quarter. Twin Tree Management LP now owns 737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,566 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 28.7% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 25.5% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 961 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. 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.