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

Key Points

• Shares carry a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from eight analysts (four hold, four buy) with an average 12‑month price target of $127.
• The board authorized a $100.0 million share buyback (up to ~2.7% of shares) and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 (annualized $0.80, ~0.6% yield).
• Insiders sold 30,713 shares (~$3.93M) in the past three months (insiders own 1.77%), while institutional investors own 90.93% of the stock with several major funds increasing their stakes.

Shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $127.00.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AZZ shares. Robert W. Baird set a $125.00 price target on AZZ in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered AZZ from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $127.00 to $132.00 in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised AZZ from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of AZZ in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Noble Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of AZZ in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 25,000 shares of AZZ stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.29, for a total transaction of $3,182,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 158,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,134,986.78. The trade was a 13.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Tara D. Mackey sold 2,923 shares of AZZ stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.00, for a total value of $397,528.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 22,373 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,042,728. This represents a 11.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 30,713 shares of company stock worth $3,933,104. 1.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AZZ

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in AZZ by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,357,370 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $359,843,000 after purchasing an additional 80,099 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in AZZ by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,009,812 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $215,412,000 after acquiring an additional 48,565 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AZZ by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,783,663 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $191,174,000 after buying an additional 15,744 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of AZZ by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,182,140 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $126,706,000 after buying an additional 49,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of AZZ by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 771,358 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $82,674,000 after buying an additional 51,463 shares in the last quarter. 90.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AZZ Price Performance

Shares of AZZ opened at $137.38 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. AZZ has a 1 year low of $74.00 and a 1 year high of $141.18. The stock has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.91 and a beta of 1.15. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $130.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.46.

AZZ announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 2.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

AZZ Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 23rd will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 23rd. AZZ's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.52%.

AZZ Company Profile

AZZ Inc, incorporated in 1956 and headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, is a leading provider of galvanizing and metal finishing solutions alongside electrical equipment and services. The company supports a diverse range of industries—such as energy, infrastructure, heavy equipment and general industrial markets—by delivering corrosion protection and high-performance electrical solutions designed for demanding environments.

AZZ operates two primary business segments. The Global Coatings & Services segment offers hot-dip galvanizing, metal finishing, painting, powder coating and related value-added services to steel fabricators and original equipment manufacturers.

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