A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.32

A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, July 8th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of 0.32 per share by the industrial products company on Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st.

A. O. Smith has raised its dividend payment by an average of 7.6% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 30 years. A. O. Smith has a payout ratio of 29.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect A. O. Smith to earn $4.37 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.28 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 29.3%.

A. O. Smith Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE AOS opened at $84.50 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $83.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.87. A. O. Smith has a 12-month low of $64.14 and a 12-month high of $92.44. The company has a market capitalization of $12.39 billion, a PE ratio of 21.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.15.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.01). A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.67% and a return on equity of 31.04%. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.01 EPS. A. O. Smith’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AOS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of A. O. Smith from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $97.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on A. O. Smith from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.67.

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.