AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $100.71.

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. B. Riley boosted their target price on shares of AZZ from $99.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Sidoti raised shares of AZZ from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $101.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Noble Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of AZZ in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Roth Mkm assumed coverage on shares of AZZ in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $108.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Roth Capital raised shares of AZZ to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th.

AZZ Trading Down 0.0%

AZZ traded down $0.01 on Friday, reaching $90.56. 215,907 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 222,883. AZZ has a one year low of $69.59 and a one year high of $99.49. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.18. The company has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last posted 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. AZZ had a net margin of 7.94% and a return on equity of 16.99%. The business had revenue of $351.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $367.78 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AZZ will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

AZZ Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 24th were issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 24th. AZZ's dividend payout ratio is currently 42.77%.

Insider Activity at AZZ

In other news, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 18,851 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.91, for a total transaction of $1,694,893.41. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AZZ

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in AZZ by 12.8% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 25,960 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,171,000 after purchasing an additional 2,945 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in shares of AZZ by 185.9% during the first 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 during 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% during 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 worth $7,030,000 after acquiring an additional 14,965 shares during the last quarter. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in shares of AZZ by 7.2% during the first quarter. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 74,545 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,233,000 after acquiring an additional 4,979 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 771 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.93% of the company's stock.

AZZ Company Profile

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.