A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Hits New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) shares hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $63.02 and last traded at $63.63, with a volume of 104260 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $66.12.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AOS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup reduced their price objective on A. O. Smith from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Saturday, March 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 2.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.67. The firm has a market cap of $9.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.26.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. As a group, research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is 37.47%.

Insider Activity

In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $67,356.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at $583,562.85. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of A. O. Smith stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $27,507.35. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,471.85. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AOS. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth about $66,000. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the 4th quarter worth about $84,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 40.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the period. Finally, Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new position in A. O. Smith in the fourth quarter worth approximately $120,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Company Profile

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.