A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Reaches New 1-Year Low Following Weak Earnings

Shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS) hit a new 52-week low on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as low as $67.06 and last traded at $67.64, with a volume of 8919 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $69.22.

The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 30.09%.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is currently 35.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AOS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com cut A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of 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. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $88.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.14.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AOS. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 65.3% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 4,649 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $380,000 after acquiring an additional 1,836 shares during the period. MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new position in A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter valued at about $764,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in A. O. Smith by 0.8% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 98,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,029,000 after buying an additional 807 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in A. O. Smith by 4.3% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 39,357 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,219,000 after buying an additional 1,621 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 7.2% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,007 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $164,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 4.6 %

The company has a market cap of $9.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.52, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.18. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $70.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

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.