Short Interest in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) Drops By 16.6%

AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 767,000 shares, a decline of 16.6% from the March 15th total of 920,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 264,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days. Approximately 2.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

AZZ Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AZZ traded up $0.39 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $85.11. 191,980 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 252,299. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $85.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.32. The company has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.51, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.22. 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 has a 52 week low of $69.59 and a 52 week high of $99.49.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $351.88 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $367.78 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AZZ will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 24th will be given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 24th. AZZ's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.77%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AZZ

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZZ. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of AZZ by 554.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 251,823 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $20,629,000 after buying an additional 213,355 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in AZZ by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 882,308 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $72,279,000 after acquiring an additional 142,215 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in AZZ during the 4th quarter valued at about $10,612,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AZZ by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,729,287 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $223,584,000 after purchasing an additional 124,392 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new stake in shares of AZZ in the fourth quarter worth approximately $7,798,000. 90.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on AZZ. Roth Mkm initiated coverage on shares of AZZ in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $108.00 price target for the company. B. Riley lifted their target price on AZZ from $99.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Roth Capital upgraded AZZ to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Noble Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of AZZ in a report on Thursday, March 6th. 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $100.71.

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.