AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) Hits New 52-Week High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• AZZ Inc. has reached a new 52-week high with shares trading up to $114.14, driven by positive analyst forecasts and a recent increase in its quarterly dividend.
• Wall Street analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $108.00, signaling potential growth for investors.
• The company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and showing a revenue increase of 2.1% compared to last year.

AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $113.76 and last traded at $114.14, with a volume of 34894 shares. The stock had previously closed at $112.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised AZZ from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Noble Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of AZZ in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on AZZ from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Sidoti lowered AZZ from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $101.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on AZZ from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $108.00.

AZZ Price Performance

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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.33 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $98.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.84.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. AZZ had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 16.40%. The business had revenue of $421,962 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $435.91 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. AZZ's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

AZZ Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from AZZ's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. AZZ's dividend payout ratio is 9.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.98, for a total value of $539,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 27,709 shares in the company, valued at $2,992,017.82. This trade represents a 15.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 26,516 shares of AZZ stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 50,367 shares of company stock worth $5,174,092. Corporate insiders own 1.77% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZZ. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in AZZ by 39.6% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 374 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in AZZ by 2.8% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 4,220 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in AZZ by 4.2% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,606 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in AZZ by 3.9% during the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 4,311 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC grew its holdings in AZZ by 1.0% during the first quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 17,528 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,466,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.93% of the company's stock.

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.