AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) COO Bryan Lee Stovall Sells 5,000 Shares

AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.98, for a total transaction of $539,900.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 27,709 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,992,017.82. This trade represents a 15.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

AZZ Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE AZZ traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $109.37. 243,467 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 392,895. The company's 50-day moving average is $96.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.71. AZZ Inc. has a one year low of $69.59 and a one year high of $113.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.51. The company has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.67 and a beta of 1.24.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 9th. The industrial products company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $421,962 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $435.91 million. AZZ had a net margin of 16.40% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This is an increase from AZZ's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. AZZ's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.27%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AZZ

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AZZ by 110.0% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 399 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in AZZ by 39.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 374 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in AZZ by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 515 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its position in AZZ by 2,150.0% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 855 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in AZZ by 1,121.3% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 977 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 897 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.93% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AZZ shares. Noble Financial restated an "outperform" rating on shares of AZZ in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on AZZ from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on AZZ from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Sidoti cut AZZ from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $101.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised AZZ from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AZZ currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $108.00.

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.