Analysts Set A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) Price Target at $76.50

Shares of A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $76.50.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AOS shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 price target on shares of A. O. Smith and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $80.00 target price on shares of A. O. Smith and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $76.00 price objective on A. O. Smith in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 18th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AOS. Oak Thistle LLC increased its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 230.1% during the fourth quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 36,077 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,413,000 after purchasing an additional 25,147 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $326,000. Westwood Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth about $635,000. eCIO Inc. acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $246,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of AOS opened at $72.22 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.06 billion, a PE ratio of 19.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.35. A. O. Smith has a 12-month low of $58.83 and a 12-month high of $77.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The industrial products company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.05. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 13.85%.The firm had revenue of $942.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $946.33 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.700-3.850 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that A. O. Smith will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.81%.

About A. O. Smith

A. O. Smith Corporation, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a leading manufacturer of water heating and water treatment products for residential and commercial applications. Since its founding in 1874, the company has built a reputation for producing reliable, energy-efficient water heaters, boilers and pressure vessels. Its product portfolio encompasses gas, electric, condensing and tankless water heaters, as well as specialty boilers designed to meet a variety of building and industrial needs.

The company operates through two primary segments: North America and Asia.