A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Raised to Hold at Zacks Research

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

AOS has been the subject of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded A. O. Smith from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Oppenheimer set a $75.00 target price on A. O. Smith and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on A. O. Smith from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $61.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $60.00 price objective (down from $65.00) on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.75.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 1.9%

A. O. Smith stock opened at $63.62 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $8.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.67, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.17. A. O. Smith has a 52-week low of $54.16 and a 52-week high of $81.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $60.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.92.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.07. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.15% and a return on equity of 27.88%. The company had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $994.89 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.07 earnings per share. A. O. Smith’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. A. O. Smith has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.700-3.850 EPS. Equities analysts predict that A. O. Smith will post 3.74 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 3,481.8% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 394 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in A. O. Smith by 67.9% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

A. O. Smith Company Profile

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.