A. O. Smith Corporation AOS stands to gain from strength in its businesses, acquired assets and a sound capital-deployment strategy despite lower customer demand in China, increasing costs and expenses, and forex woes.Increasing volumes of water-treatment products, commercial water heaters and boilers are aiding A. O. Smith’s sales in North America. Strong demand in the wholesale channel is also supporting the segment’s revenues. The Rest of the World segment is being driven by robust demand in India. AOS anticipates the Rest of the World segment margin to improve 50-100 basis points year over year in 2022.AOS intends to strengthen and expand its businesses through asset additions. A. O. Smith’s June 2022 acquisition of Atlantic Filter, boosted its position in the water treatment industry and strengthened its customer base in Florida and the adjacent regions. The buyout of Canada-based Giant Factories, Inc in October 2021 expanded its commercial and water-heater offerings. The Giant Factories takeover added $31 million to North America sales in second-quarter 2022. The Master Water Conditioning Corporation purchase in July 2021 boosted AOS’s water-treatment business in North America.A. O. Smith utilizes its cash flow to reward its shareholders through dividend payouts and share-repurchase programs. It paid out dividends worth $87.9 million, up 4.8% year over year and bought back shares worth $22.9 million in the first six months of 2022. For 2022, AOS anticipates repurchasing shares worth approximately $400 million.A. O. Smith Corporation Price and Consensus A. O. Smith Corporation price-consensus-chart | A. O. Smith Corporation QuoteConsidering the above-mentioned positives, we believe, investors should retain the AOS stock for now, as is suggested by its current Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).Stocks to ConsiderSome better-ranked companies from the Industrial Products sector are discussed below:Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. AIT presently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 22.8%, on average. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks.AIT’s earnings estimates have increased 6.7% for fiscal 2023 (ending June 2023) in the past 60 days. Its shares have risen 4.6% in the past three months.Eaton Corporation plc ETN presently has a Zacks Rank of 2. ETN’s earnings surprise in the last four quarters was 1.4%, on average.In the past 60 days, Eaton’s earnings estimates have increased 1.1% for 2022. The stock has rallied 3.1% in the past three months.IDEX Corporation IEX presently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). IEX’s earnings surprise in the last four quarters was 4.6%, on average.In the past 60 days, IDEX’s earnings estimates have increased 1.1% for 2022. The stock has rallied 9.6% in the past three months. Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double" From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all. It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time. This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Eaton Corporation, PLC (ETN): Free Stock Analysis Report A. O. Smith Corporation (AOS): Free Stock Analysis Report Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (AIT): Free Stock Analysis Report IDEX Corporation (IEX): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research