A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Reaches New 12-Month Low After Analyst Downgrade

A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Zacks Research downgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong sell rating. The company traded as low as $58.22 and last traded at $58.8720, with a volume of 1462349 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.86.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on AOS. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $61.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 13th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 price objective on shares of A. O. Smith and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $67.00 price objective on shares of A. O. Smith and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other A. O. Smith news, SVP Darrell W. Schuh sold 1,104 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total transaction of $82,126.56. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $163,732.39. This trade represents a 33.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AOS. Norges Bank acquired a new position in A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter valued at about $97,101,000. Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth approximately $80,885,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 54.2% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,208,831 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $235,560,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128,543 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 220.4% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,022,299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $68,371,000 after purchasing an additional 703,186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,096,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,009,622,000 after purchasing an additional 683,176 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $66.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.77. The company has a market cap of $8.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.88, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.56.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.94 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $945.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $974.06 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.42% and a net margin of 13.84%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.600-3.900 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Corporation will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is currently 38.30%.

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.