A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. DA Davidson lowered A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. UBS Group upgraded shares of 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. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.29.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

AOS stock traded down $0.91 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $72.98. The company had a trading volume of 953,138 shares, compared to its average volume of 969,254. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $77.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.79. The company has a market capitalization of $10.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16. A. O. Smith has a 1 year low of $70.73 and a 1 year high of $92.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $960.36 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 30.09%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of A. O. Smith

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 214.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the third quarter worth about $37,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.