AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) Hits New 1-Year Low - Time to Sell?

AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $84.52 and last traded at $86.76, with a volume of 286435 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $88.14.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. B. Riley lifted their price objective on shares of AZZ from $99.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Roth Capital upgraded AZZ to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Noble Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of AZZ in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Roth Mkm initiated coverage on shares of AZZ in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $108.00 price target for the company. Finally, Sidoti upgraded shares of AZZ from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $101.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AZZ presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $100.71.

AZZ Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $84.96 and a 200 day moving average of $86.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.51, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.25.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.03. AZZ had a return on equity of 16.99% and a net margin of 7.94%. The company had revenue of $351.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $367.78 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 24th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 24th. AZZ's dividend payout ratio is presently 42.77%.

Insider Transactions at AZZ

In related news, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 26,889 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.88, for a total value of $2,309,227.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,458 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,160,013.04. This trade represents a 11.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AZZ

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in AZZ by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 515 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of AZZ by 39.0% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of AZZ by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,658 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of AZZ by 4.2% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,606 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its holdings in shares of AZZ by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 24,151 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,978,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. 90.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.