AZZ Inc. $AZZ Position Cut by Simplex Trading LLC

Key Points

• Simplex Trading cut its AZZ position by 64.6% in the third quarter, selling 11,120 shares and retaining 6,097 shares valued at about $819,000.
• AZZ reported quarterly EPS of $2.00, topping the $1.88 analyst consensus, while revenue rose 16.7% year over year to $486.89 million. The company set FY2027 EPS guidance of $7.00–$7.30.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $153.20; institutional investors collectively own 90.93% of AZZ shares.

Simplex Trading LLC decreased its position in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Free Report) by 64.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,097 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 11,120 shares during the quarter. Simplex Trading LLC's holdings in AZZ were worth $819,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AZZ. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AZZ in the 2nd quarter worth about $719,876,000. SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new position in AZZ during the 1st quarter valued at about $45,297,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in AZZ during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,818,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in AZZ in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,505,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its position in AZZ by 50.5% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 102,027 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $12,768,000 after purchasing an additional 34,241 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.93% of the company's stock.

AZZ Stock Performance

AZZ opened at $132.91 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.95 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.27. AZZ Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.61 and a 1-year high of $162.20. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $135.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $138.28.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 13th. The industrial products company reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.12. AZZ had a return on equity of 14.85% and a net margin of 9.59%. The firm had revenue of $486.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $467.14 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.55 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. AZZ has set its FY 2027 guidance at 7.000-7.300 EPS. Research analysts predict that AZZ Inc. will post 7.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 19th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 19th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. AZZ's payout ratio is 17.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AZZ news, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 2,677 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.07, for a total value of $401,737.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 35,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,252,450. This represents a 7.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. B. Riley Financial raised their price target on shares of AZZ from $170.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded AZZ from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on AZZ from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Barclays raised their target price on AZZ from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of AZZ in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $153.20.

About AZZ

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