AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with an average 12-month price target of $116.43.
• Insider trading activity saw CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sell 26,516 shares at an average price of $110.85, reducing his ownership in the company by 12.64%.
• Large institutional investors have significantly increased their holdings in AZZ, with Huntington National Bank raising its stake by 206.7% during the second quarter.

Shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the ten research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $116.4286.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AZZ. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded AZZ to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Noble Financial restated an "outperform" rating on shares of AZZ in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on AZZ from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on AZZ from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, B. Riley upped their target price on AZZ from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th.

Insider Activity at AZZ

In related news, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 26,516 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.85, for a total value of $2,939,298.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 183,182 shares in the company, valued at $20,305,724.70. This represents a 12.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Kurt L. Russell sold 10,321 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.21, for a total value of $1,158,119.41. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 16,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,885,576.84. This represents a 38.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 46,837 shares of company stock worth $5,195,318 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.77% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in AZZ by 206.7% in the second quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 273 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in AZZ in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. acquired a new position in AZZ in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings 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 period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in AZZ by 110.0% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 399 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the period. 90.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AZZ Price Performance

Shares of AZZ stock opened at $109.30 on Thursday. AZZ has a fifty-two week low of $70.90 and a fifty-two week high of $119.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.66 and a beta of 1.30. 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 stock's 50-day simple moving average is $112.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.24.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.19. AZZ had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 16.40%.The business had revenue of $421.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $435.91 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. AZZ has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.750-6.250 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AZZ will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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