DA Davidson Downgrades A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) to Neutral

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) was downgraded by DA Davidson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, Briefing.com reports. They currently have a $80.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock. DA Davidson’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 2.26% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on AOS. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $97.00 to $98.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.00.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 0.5 %

A. O. Smith stock opened at $78.23 on Wednesday. A. O. Smith has a 1 year low of $65.08 and a 1 year high of $92.44. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $82.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.59. The firm has a market cap of $11.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.70.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.01). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.04% and a net margin of 14.67%. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that A. O. Smith will post 3.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Samuel M. Carver sold 14,705 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total value of $1,191,105.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,399 shares in the company, valued at $194,319. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of A. O. Smith

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 214.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.