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A.O. Smith (AOS) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

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A.O. Smith (AOS - Free Report) closed at $66.23 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.32% move from the prior day. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.43%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 1.02%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.32%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the maker of water heaters and boilers had lost 3.71% over the past month. This has lagged the Industrial Products sector's gain of 6.9% and the S&P 500's gain of 5.65% in that time.

A.O. Smith will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.75, up 25% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $969.22 million, up 26.04% from the prior-year quarter.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $3.55 per share and revenue of $4.14 billion. These totals would mark changes of +19.93% and +16.98%, respectively, from last year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for A.O. Smith should also be noted by investors. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. A.O. Smith is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

Investors should also note A.O. Smith's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 18.41. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 20.93, which means A.O. Smith is trading at a discount to the group.

We can also see that AOS currently has a PEG ratio of 2.05. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Manufacturing - Electronics industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.71 as of yesterday's close.

The Manufacturing - Electronics industry is part of the Industrial Products sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 81, putting it in the top 32% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

To follow AOS in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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