A. O. Smith Corp (NYSE:AOS) – Equities researchers at Oppenheimer reduced their Q3 2019 EPS estimates for shares of A. O. Smith in a research report issued on Sunday, July 14th. Oppenheimer analyst B. Blair now expects that the industrial products company will post earnings of $0.70 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.71. Oppenheimer also issued estimates for A. O. Smith’s Q4 2019 earnings at $0.81 EPS.
A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.04). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 25.01% and a net margin of 13.81%. The company had revenue of $748.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $764.16 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year.
Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Zacks Investment Research lowered Hancock Jaffe Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on A. O. Smith to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Edward Jones downgraded A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. ValuEngine downgraded Xylem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Cerner from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. A. O. Smith presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.11.
NYSE AOS opened at $45.20 on Wednesday. A. O. Smith has a fifty-two week low of $40.34 and a fifty-two week high of $61.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.46 billion, a PE ratio of 17.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.56. The business has a fifty day moving average of $44.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a current ratio of 2.25.
A. O. Smith announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, June 3rd that allows the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 30th. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.72%.
In related news, Director Ronald D. Brown sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.45, for a total value of $419,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 35,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,882,745.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Paul R. Dana sold 9,010 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.76, for a total value of $475,367.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $786,757.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,010 shares of company stock valued at $944,468 in the last three months. 1.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bremer Bank National Association acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Huntington National Bank increased its position in A. O. Smith by 82.2% in the 1st quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 512 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in A. O. Smith in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in A. O. Smith by 67.6% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 538 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Finally, CSat Investment Advisory L.P. increased its position in A. O. Smith by 141.2% in the 4th quarter. CSat Investment Advisory L.P. now owns 1,006 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares during the period. 74.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About A. O. Smith
A. O. Smith Corporation manufactures and markets residential and commercial gas and electric water heaters, boilers, tanks, and water treatment products in North America, China, Europe, and India. It operates through two segments, North America and Rest of World. The company offers water heaters for residences, restaurants, hotels and motels, office buildings, laundries, car washes, and small businesses; residential and commercial boilers for space heating applications in hospitals, schools, hotels, and other commercial buildings; and water treatment products, including on-the-go filtration bottles, point-of-use carbon and reverse osmosis products, point-of-entry water softeners, and whole-home water filtration products for residences, restaurants, hotels, and offices.