A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Reaches New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $71.04 and last traded at $71.14, with a volume of 34055 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $72.15.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AOS shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson downgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.71.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $10.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s 50-day moving average is $80.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.82. The company had revenue of $957.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 prior year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. This is a positive change from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Institutional investors and hedge funds 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 in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Isthmus Partners LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in A. O. Smith by 214.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. 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.