AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) Shareholders to Receive $0.24 Quarterly Dividend

Key Points

• AZZ declared a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, payable November 5 to shareholders of record on October 19. The dividend is equivalent to $0.96 annually and a 0.7% yield.
• The dividend appears well covered, with a current payout ratio of 14.8%; analysts expect next year’s earnings to support an estimated payout ratio of 12.6%.
• AZZ recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $1.85 in EPS and $448.53 million in revenue, up 6.3% year over year. The stock opened at $136.65, while insiders recently sold shares and institutional investors own 90.93% of the company.

AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 8th. Investors of record on Monday, October 19th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share by the industrial products company on Thursday, November 5th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 19th.

AZZ has increased its dividend by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years. AZZ has a dividend payout ratio of 14.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect AZZ to earn $7.63 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.96 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 12.6%.

AZZ Stock Down 1.3%

NYSE:AZZ opened at $136.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.39. AZZ has a 1-year low of $92.98 and a 1-year high of $162.20. The company has a 50-day moving average of $140.87 and a 200 day moving average of $141.72. The firm has a market cap of $4.11 billion, a PE ratio of 20.83 and a beta of 1.13.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 8th. The industrial products company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.05. AZZ had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 14.18%. The business had revenue of $448.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $434.58 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AZZ will post 7.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AZZ

In other news, COO Jeffrey Vellines sold 4,220 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.55, for a total transaction of $647,981.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,834 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $281,610.70. This represents a 69.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 2,677 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.07, for a total value of $401,737.39. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 35,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,252,450. The trade was a 7.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZZ. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in AZZ by 3.7% in the second quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,723 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of AZZ by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 658 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of AZZ by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,919 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,399,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of AZZ by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,009 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. Finally, Kilter Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of AZZ in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. 90.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About AZZ

AZZ Inc is a provider of metal coating solutions serving customers primarily in North America. The company operates through its Metal Coatings and Precoat Metals segments, helping protect and enhance the performance, appearance, and durability of steel and other metal products used across a range of industries.

Through its Metal Coatings segment, AZZ provides hot-dip galvanizing, powder coating, anodizing, plating, and related coating services. These treatments are used for corrosion protection and finishing applications involving infrastructure, construction, industrial, transportation, and other metal products.

Precoat Metals provides coil coating services for steel and aluminum products before they are fabricated.

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