Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 29,306 Shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Free Report) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,110,831 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 29,306 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 3.72% of AZZ worth $90,999,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AZZ. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in AZZ by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of AZZ by 202.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 475 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of AZZ by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 515 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of AZZ by 50.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,244 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in AZZ during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $214,000. 90.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AZZ Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZZ traded up $3.74 during trading on Friday, hitting $90.62. 232,579 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 227,534. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $85.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.70. The company has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.23, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.25. AZZ Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.59 and a 52-week high of $99.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $0.98 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $367.78 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

AZZ Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 24th will be paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 24th. AZZ's payout ratio is currently 42.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AZZ

In related news, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 26,889 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.88, for a total value of $2,309,227.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,458 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,160,013.04. The trade was a 11.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on AZZ shares. Roth Capital upgraded shares of AZZ to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Roth Mkm assumed coverage on AZZ in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $108.00 target price on the stock. Noble Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of AZZ in a report on Thursday, March 6th. B. Riley raised their price objective on AZZ from $99.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Sidoti upgraded AZZ from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $101.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $100.71.

AZZ 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.