Today we're going to take a look at the well-established A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS). The company's stock saw a decent share price growth of 12% on the NYSE over the last few months. The recent jump in the share price has meant that the company is trading around its 52-week high. With many analysts covering the large-cap stock, we may expect any price-sensitive announcements have already been factored into the stock's share price. But what if there is still an opportunity to buy? Today we will analyse the most recent data on A. O. Smith's outlook and valuation to see if the opportunity still exists.

Is A. O. Smith Still Cheap?

According to our valuation model, A. O. Smith seems to be fairly priced at around 0.3% below our intrinsic value, which means if you buy A. O. Smith today, you'd be paying a reasonable price for it. And if you believe that the stock is really worth $86.10, then there's not much of an upside to gain from mispricing. Is there another opportunity to buy low in the future? Since A. O. Smith's share price is quite volatile, we could potentially see it sink lower (or rise higher) in the future, giving us another chance to buy. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for how much the stock moves relative to the rest of the market.

What kind of growth will A. O. Smith generate?

Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Although value investors would argue that it's the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. With profit expected to grow by 20% over the next couple of years, the future seems bright for A. O. Smith. It looks like higher cash flow is on the cards for the stock, which should feed into a higher share valuation.

What This Means For You

Are you a shareholder? AOS's optimistic future growth appears to have been factored into the current share price, with shares trading around its fair value. However, there are also other important factors which we haven't considered today, such as the track record of its management team. Have these factors changed since the last time you looked at the stock? Will you have enough conviction to buy should the price fluctuates below the true value?

Are you a potential investor? If you've been keeping an eye on AOS, now may not be the most optimal time to buy, given it is trading around its fair value. However, the positive outlook is encouraging for the company, which means it's worth further examining other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to take advantage of the next price drop.

Diving deeper into the forecasts for A. O. Smith mentioned earlier will help you understand how analysts view the stock going forward. So feel free to check out our free graph representing analyst forecasts.

If you are no longer interested in A. O. Smith, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.