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

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) had its price objective decreased by Stifel Nicolaus from $90.00 to $84.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target indicates a potential upside of 24.80% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Saturday, January 18th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. DA Davidson cut shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $88.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $82.29.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE AOS traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $67.31. The company had a trading volume of 448,259 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,348,907. A. O. Smith has a twelve month low of $65.53 and a twelve month high of $92.44. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $9.76 billion, a PE ratio of 17.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $70.84 and its 200-day moving average is $77.53.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 14.41%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in A. O. Smith by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 18,966 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,277,000 after buying an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. PUREfi Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $252,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 4,089 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 374,933 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,574,000 after purchasing an additional 69,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 8,722 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $595,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.