AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) Downgraded to "Hold" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded AZZ from a "buy" to a "hold" rating in a report published Saturday.
• AZZ beat quarterly estimates, reporting $1.34 EPS versus $1.19 expected and $385.1M in revenue, while setting FY2027 guidance of $6.50–$7.00 EPS and authorizing a $100M share repurchase (~2.7% of shares).
• Analysts are split—four rate AZZ a Buy and four a Hold—resulting in a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" with a $141.80 consensus target price.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also commented on AZZ. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $152.00 price target on shares of AZZ in a research report on Monday. B. Riley Financial boosted their price target on AZZ from $167.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on AZZ from $125.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Noble Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of AZZ in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of AZZ from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $127.00 to $132.00 in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AZZ has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $141.80.

AZZ Trading Up 0.3%

AZZ opened at $143.54 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.67 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. AZZ has a 12 month low of $86.67 and a 12 month high of $147.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $131.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $118.53.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $385.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $382.24 million. AZZ had a return on equity of 14.47% and a net margin of 19.23%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. AZZ has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.500-7.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AZZ will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AZZ announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 2.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other AZZ news, insider Tara D. Mackey sold 2,923 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.00, for a total value of $397,528.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 22,373 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,042,728. This trade represents a 11.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.29, for a total value of $3,182,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 158,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,134,986.78. This represents a 13.65% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AZZ

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AZZ. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of AZZ by 8.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 12,619 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,055,000 after buying an additional 1,024 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AZZ by 26.2% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,213 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $519,000 after buying an additional 1,290 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 771 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 14,965 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 33,238 shares during the period. 90.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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