AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.20

AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, June 26th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of 0.20 per share by the industrial products company on Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. This is a 17.6% increase from AZZ's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17.

AZZ has a dividend payout ratio of 10.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect AZZ to earn $5.81 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.68 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 11.7%.

AZZ Trading Up 2.1%

AZZ stock traded up $1.92 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $92.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 187,334 shares, compared to its average volume of 219,695. The company has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.33 and a beta of 1.25. AZZ has a 12 month low of $69.59 and a 12 month high of $99.49. The business's 50 day moving average price is $89.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $351.88 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $367.78 million. AZZ had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 8.17%. On average, equities research analysts predict that AZZ will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 18,851 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.91, for a total transaction of $1,694,893.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 192,607 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,317,295.37. This represents a 8.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.77% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AZZ

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in shares of AZZ by 185.9% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 51,122 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,274,000 after acquiring an additional 33,238 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of AZZ by 21.7% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 84,076 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,030,000 after purchasing an additional 14,965 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AZZ by 26.2% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,213 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $519,000 after buying an additional 1,290 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of AZZ by 8.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 12,619 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in AZZ by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 17,488 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 771 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AZZ shares. Sidoti cut AZZ from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $101.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Noble Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of AZZ in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $104.00.

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.

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