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

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) had its price objective decreased by stock analysts at Citigroup from $85.00 to $78.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Citigroup’s target price suggests a potential upside of 5.41% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut 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 note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson downgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.29.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

Shares of AOS stock traded up $1.39 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $74.00. 570,210 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 966,046. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.47, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $77.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.95. A. O. Smith has a 52 week low of $70.73 and a 52 week high of $92.44.

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, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82. The firm 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,007 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its position in A. O. Smith by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in A. O. Smith by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,227 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in A. O. Smith by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 2,989 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $269,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in A. O. Smith by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 156 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.