AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) Issues Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.01 EPS

Key Points

• AZZ reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.55, missing analysts' expectations of $1.56 by $0.01.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20 to be paid on November 6th, with a yield of 0.8%.
• Institutional investors own over 90% of AZZ's shares, with notable increases in holdings from firms like Tidal Investments LLC, which lifted its stake by 64.6% in the last quarter.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The industrial products company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.56 by ($0.01), Zacks reports. AZZ had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 16.40%.

AZZ Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of AZZ stock traded up $0.69 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $105.77. 629,621 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 261,893. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 1.30. AZZ has a 1-year low of $70.90 and a 1-year high of $119.95. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $112.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

AZZ Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 16th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 16th. AZZ's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.27%.

Insider Transactions at AZZ

In other news, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 22,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,534,324.40. The trade was a 18.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 26,516 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.85, for a total value of $2,939,298.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 183,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,305,724.70. The trade was a 12.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,837 shares of company stock worth $5,195,318. 1.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AZZ

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of AZZ by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 26,314 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,486,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AZZ by 64.6% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 25,092 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,371,000 after purchasing an additional 9,846 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of AZZ by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 17,488 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 771 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in AZZ by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 12,619 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,055,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in AZZ by 26.2% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,213 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $519,000 after acquiring an additional 1,290 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZZ has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on AZZ from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded AZZ to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (a-)" rating on shares of AZZ in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research lowered AZZ from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered AZZ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $116.43.

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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