AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Robert W. Baird Analyst Says

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by analysts at Robert W. Baird from $90.00 to $110.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the industrial products company's stock. Robert W. Baird's price target would indicate a potential upside of 3.82% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on AZZ. Sidoti cut shares of AZZ from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $101.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of AZZ from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AZZ presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $108.00.

AZZ Stock Down 0.3%

AZZ stock traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $105.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 503,073 shares, compared to its average volume of 221,738. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a PE ratio of 12.28 and a beta of 1.24. AZZ has a 12 month low of $69.59 and a 12 month high of $113.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $93.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $89.05.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 9th. The industrial products company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $421,962 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $435.91 million. AZZ had a net margin of 16.40% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The business's revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that AZZ will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at AZZ

In related news, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 18,851 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.91, for a total transaction of $1,694,893.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 192,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,317,295.37. The trade was a 8.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AZZ in the second quarter worth $265,000. Hodges Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in AZZ during the first quarter worth $1,411,000. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in AZZ by 12.8% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 25,960 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,171,000 after purchasing an additional 2,945 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in 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 last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 14,965 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.93% of the company's stock.

About AZZ

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.