AZZ Inc. $AZZ Shares Acquired by Copeland Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Copeland Capital Management raised its stake in AZZ by 222.5% in Q4 to 466,140 shares (about 1.56% of the company), a holding worth roughly $49.96 million amid ~90.93% institutional ownership.
• AZZ beat Q4 expectations, reporting $1.34 EPS vs. a $1.19 consensus and $385.1M in revenue (up 9.4% YoY), and set FY2027 guidance of $6.50–$7.00 EPS (sell‑side average ≈ 6.82).
• The board authorized a $100 million share buyback and declared a $0.20 quarterly dividend (annualized $0.80, ~0.5% yield), while insiders — including the CEO — executed notable stock sales that may temper sentiment.

Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Free Report) by 222.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 466,140 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 321,611 shares during the quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.56% of AZZ worth $49,961,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AZZ. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of AZZ by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 12,619 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,055,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AZZ by 26.2% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,213 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $519,000 after acquiring an additional 1,290 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of AZZ by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 17,488 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,462,000 after acquiring an additional 771 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of AZZ by 21.7% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 84,076 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $7,030,000 after acquiring an additional 14,965 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of AZZ by 185.9% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 51,122 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,274,000 after acquiring an additional 33,238 shares during the last quarter. 90.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AZZ shares. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $137.00 target price on shares of AZZ in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut AZZ from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $132.00 in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded AZZ from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of AZZ in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $125.00 target price on AZZ in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $127.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at AZZ

In other news, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.29, for a total value of $3,182,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 158,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,134,986.78. This trade represents a 13.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Tara D. Mackey sold 2,923 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.00, for a total value of $397,528.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 22,373 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,042,728. This trade represents a 11.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 1.77% of the company's stock.

AZZ Stock Performance

Shares of AZZ stock opened at $146.40 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.37 billion, a PE ratio of 13.94 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $130.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $117.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. AZZ Inc. has a 12 month low of $81.24 and a 12 month high of $147.28.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $385.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $382.24 million. AZZ had a return on equity of 14.63% and a net margin of 19.23%.AZZ's revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. AZZ has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.500-7.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AZZ Inc. will post 6.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 23rd will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 23rd. AZZ's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.52%.

AZZ announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 2.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Key Headlines Impacting AZZ

Here are the key news stories impacting AZZ this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations — AZZ reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter vs. the ~$1.19 consensus and revenue of $385.1M (up ~9.4% YoY), signaling near-term operational strength. AZZ (AZZ) Tops Q4 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Record fiscal 2026 results and cash generation — the company reported record full-year sales ($1.65B), large GAAP net income gains (driven in part by a JV divestiture) and improved adjusted net income and operating cash flow, supporting a stronger valuation backdrop. AZZ Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2026 Full-Year Results
• Positive Sentiment: Margin expansion and operating leverage — commentary and reported metrics show improved gross and operating profit trends, which help explain the share-strength as investors reward better profitability. AZZ Inc. (AZZ) Q4 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: FY2027 guidance is mixed — management set EPS guidance of $6.50–$7.00 and revenue guidance roughly $1.7B–$1.8B. That EPS range overlaps consensus (~$6.79) but the midpoint is slightly below some street forecasts, making guidance more conservative than some investors had hoped. AZZ earnings release / guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Conflicting/GAAP vs. adjusted metrics and some mixed-quarter takes — third‑party summaries highlighted a year-over-year decline in GAAP quarterly net income/diluted EPS on certain measures, which can create investor confusion and sell-side debate over the underlying quality of the quarter. AZZ Inc. (AZZ) Releases Q4 2026 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and portfolio reshuffling noted in datasets — reported insider sell transactions and large institutional position changes may weigh on sentiment for some investors. AZZ Inc. (AZZ) Releases Q4 2026 Earnings

About AZZ

AZZ Inc, incorporated in 1956 and headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, is a leading provider of galvanizing and metal finishing solutions alongside electrical equipment and services. The company supports a diverse range of industries—such as energy, infrastructure, heavy equipment and general industrial markets—by delivering corrosion protection and high-performance electrical solutions designed for demanding environments.

AZZ operates two primary business segments. The Global Coatings & Services segment offers hot-dip galvanizing, metal finishing, painting, powder coating and related value-added services to steel fabricators and original equipment manufacturers.

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