A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Price Target Increased to $92.00 by Analysts at Robert W. Baird

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) had its price objective increased by equities research analysts at Robert W. Baird from $86.00 to $92.00 in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price points to a potential upside of 11.04% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. StockNews.com downgraded A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.83.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 4.8 %

Shares of AOS stock opened at $82.85 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market cap of $12.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $79.75. A. O. Smith has a 1 year low of $63.88 and a 1 year high of $89.96.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.01. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 14.45%. The firm had revenue of $978.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $995.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that A. O. Smith will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Idelle K. Wolf sold 814 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $65,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 46,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,691,200. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Ajita G. Rajendra sold 24,669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.02, for a total value of $2,048,020.38. Following the transaction, the director now owns 56,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,728,072.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Idelle K. Wolf sold 814 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $65,120.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,691,200. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,631 shares of company stock worth $8,042,535 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 393.1% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 858 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 47.7% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 21,776 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,440,000 after purchasing an additional 7,033 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 55,605 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,677,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 22,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,486,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TriaGen Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at about $784,000. 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.