Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Purchases Shares of 41,500 AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new position in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 41,500 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $3,400,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned 0.14% of AZZ as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. US Bancorp DE raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in AZZ by 202.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 475 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position 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 during the period. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of AZZ by 50.8% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,244 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of AZZ by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,298 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.93% of the company's stock.

AZZ Stock Performance

Shares of AZZ traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $86.97. 198,473 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 229,870. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $85.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $86.49. AZZ Inc. has a 12-month low of $69.59 and a 12-month high of $99.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.22.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.03. AZZ had a return on equity of 16.99% and a net margin of 7.94%. The business had revenue of $351.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $367.78 million. Equities analysts anticipate that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 24th will be paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 24th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. AZZ's payout ratio is currently 42.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on AZZ shares. B. Riley upped their target price on AZZ from $99.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Noble Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of AZZ in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. 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 price target for the company. Sidoti raised shares of AZZ from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $101.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Roth Capital raised shares of AZZ to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AZZ has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $100.71.

About AZZ

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.