AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) Downgraded to Buy (B) Rating by Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• AZZ has been downgraded from a "buy (a-)" to a "buy (b)" rating by Weiss Ratings, indicating a potential adjustment in confidence about the stock's performance.
• Shares of AZZ decreased by 2.5% in trading, reaching a price of $98.61, contrasting with an average price target of $115.43 as reported by analysts.
• Despite the downgrade, multiple analysts maintain a positive outlook with ratings such as "outperform," "neutral," and "strong buy," suggesting varied confidence levels among market professionals.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Weiss Ratings from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report issued on Friday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Evercore ISI upped their price target on AZZ from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on AZZ from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded AZZ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Zacks Research downgraded AZZ from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Noble Financial restated an "outperform" rating on shares of AZZ in a research note on Monday, July 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $115.43.

AZZ Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of AZZ traded down $2.52 during trading on Friday, reaching $98.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 389,535 shares, compared to its average volume of 272,591. The company has a fifty day moving average of $110.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.25. AZZ has a twelve month low of $70.90 and a twelve month high of $119.95. The company has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.48 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 9th. The industrial products company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. AZZ had a return on equity of 15.01% and a net margin of 19.69%.The company had revenue of $129.87 million for the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AZZ will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AZZ

In other news, insider Kurt L. Russell sold 10,321 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.21, for a total value of $1,158,119.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 16,804 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,885,576.84. This represents a 38.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.60, for a total value of $558,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 22,709 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,534,324.40. This trade represents a 18.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.77% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AZZ

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in AZZ by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 708,852 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $66,981,000 after acquiring an additional 9,326 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its stake in AZZ by 19.4% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 650,072 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $54,353,000 after acquiring an additional 105,723 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in AZZ by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 287,595 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $27,172,000 after acquiring an additional 11,113 shares in the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in AZZ by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 259,272 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $24,496,000 after acquiring an additional 5,301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in AZZ by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 216,511 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $20,456,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087 shares in the last quarter. 90.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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