AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) Earns Buy (A-) Rating from Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• AZZ received a reaffirmed "buy (A-)" rating from Weiss Ratings, indicating strong confidence in the stock's performance.
• Several analysts have upgraded target prices for AZZ, with the average target now at $116.43, reflecting positive sentiment in the market.
• The stock is currently trading at $105.77, showing a 0.7% increase during mid-day trading, with a notable return on equity of 15.54%.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy (a-)" rating reaffirmed by analysts at Weiss Ratings in a report issued on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on AZZ from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Noble Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of AZZ in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on AZZ from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. B. Riley boosted their target price on AZZ from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered AZZ from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $116.43.

AZZ Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of AZZ stock traded up $0.69 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $105.77. 702,810 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 263,047. AZZ has a fifty-two week low of $70.90 and a fifty-two week high of $119.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.51. The company has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 1.30. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $112.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.99.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 9th. The industrial products company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $421.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $435.91 million. AZZ had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 16.40%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that AZZ will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.60, for a total transaction of $558,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 22,709 shares in the company, valued at $2,534,324.40. This represents a 18.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Kurt L. Russell sold 10,321 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 16,804 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,885,576.84. The trade was a 38.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 46,837 shares of company stock worth $5,195,318 in the last ninety days. 1.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AZZ

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of AZZ in the third quarter valued at $1,671,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in AZZ by 22.7% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,298 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $406,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its stake in AZZ by 7.8% during the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 23,989 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,744 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in shares of AZZ in the second quarter worth about $2,950,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of AZZ in the second quarter worth about $573,000. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.