Stifel Nicolaus Increases A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Price Target to $91.00

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) had its price target increased by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $85.00 to $91.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective points to a potential upside of 4.97% from the stock’s previous close.

AOS has been the topic of a number of other reports. Citigroup raised their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered A. O. Smith from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.50.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 0.3 %

A. O. Smith stock opened at $86.69 on Wednesday. A. O. Smith has a 1-year low of $63.88 and a 1-year high of $89.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $12.76 billion, a PE ratio of 23.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $85.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.05.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.01. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 14.45%. The company had revenue of $988.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $985.89 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. A. O. Smith’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that A. O. Smith will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total transaction of $836,990.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $800,176.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total transaction of $836,990.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $800,176.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 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 have sold a total of 95,631 shares of company stock valued at $8,042,535 over the last quarter. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,230 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,762 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,105 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. American International Group Inc. boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 33,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,740,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Republic Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in A. O. Smith by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,922 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $652,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. 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.