AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nine brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $100.67.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AZZ. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on AZZ from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. B. Riley lifted their price objective on AZZ from $99.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Roth Capital raised shares of AZZ to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Roth Mkm started coverage on shares of AZZ in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $108.00 target price for the company.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AZZ

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in AZZ by 32.4% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 515 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of AZZ by 39.0% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of AZZ by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,658 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its holdings in AZZ by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 24,151 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,978,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in AZZ by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,072 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. 90.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AZZ Trading Down 3.0 %

NYSE:AZZ opened at $94.70 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $88.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. AZZ has a 12-month low of $69.59 and a 12-month high of $99.49. The firm has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a PE ratio of 63.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.30.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 7th. The industrial products company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.10. AZZ had a return on equity of 16.99% and a net margin of 7.94%. The company had revenue of $403.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $394.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. AZZ’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AZZ will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. AZZ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.95%.

AZZ Company Profile

AZZ Inc provides hot-dip galvanizing and coil coating solutions in North America. It offers metal finishing solutions for corrosion protection, including hot-dip galvanizing, spin galvanizing, powder coating, anodizing, and plating to steel fabrication and other industries, as well as to fabricators or manufacturers that provide services to the transmission and distribution, bridge and highway, petrochemical, and general industrial markets; and original equipment manufacturers.