2,614 Shares in AZZ Inc. $AZZ Acquired by QRG Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• QRG Capital Management Inc. has acquired a new position in AZZ Inc., purchasing 2,614 shares valued at approximately $247,000.
• A number of institutional investors have increased their stakes in AZZ, with total institutional ownership now at 90.93%.
• AZZ recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.8%.

QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,614 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in AZZ by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 17,803 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,681,000 after purchasing an additional 1,245 shares during the period. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC boosted its stake in AZZ by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 17,808 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,682,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in AZZ by 39.6% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 374 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in AZZ in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $265,000. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in AZZ in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,411,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. B. Riley raised their price objective on shares of AZZ from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Noble Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of AZZ in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of AZZ from $128.00 to $121.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of AZZ from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (a-)" rating on shares of AZZ in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $115.43.

Insider Activity at AZZ

In related news, insider Kurt L. Russell sold 10,321 shares of AZZ stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.21, for a total value of $1,158,119.41. Following the transaction, the insider owned 16,804 shares in the company, valued at $1,885,576.84. This trade represents a 38.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 5,000 shares of AZZ stock in a transaction on 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 owned 22,709 shares in the company, valued at $2,534,324.40. This trade represents a 18.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 46,837 shares of company stock valued at $5,195,318. Insiders own 1.77% of the company's stock.

AZZ Stock Down 2.2%

AZZ stock opened at $98.58 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. AZZ Inc. has a 1 year low of $70.90 and a 1 year high of $119.95. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $112.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.41. The firm has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a PE ratio of 9.48 and a beta of 1.30.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 9th. The industrial products company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. AZZ had a net margin of 19.69% and a return on equity of 15.01%. The business had revenue of $129.87 million during the quarter. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 16th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 16th. AZZ's payout ratio is presently 7.69%.

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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