Credit Agricole S A Has $2.81 Million Stake in AZZ Inc. $AZZ

Key Points

• Credit Agricole S A significantly increased its stake in AZZ Inc. by 288.4% in Q1, now holding 33,591 shares worth about $2.81 million.
• AZZ has been rated positively by multiple analysts, with target prices ranging from $101 to $120 following recent rating adjustments.
• AZZ has announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.17 to $0.20, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Credit Agricole S A raised its stake in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Free Report) by 288.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,591 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 24,942 shares during the quarter. Credit Agricole S A owned about 0.11% of AZZ worth $2,809,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of AZZ by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 4,220 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $353,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of AZZ by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 68,712 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,745,000 after buying an additional 5,601 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in shares of AZZ by 1,121.3% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 977 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 897 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of AZZ by 140.1% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,095 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 639 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of AZZ by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 78,523 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,565,000 after buying an additional 852 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on AZZ. Zacks Research cut shares of AZZ from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Sidoti cut shares of AZZ from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $101.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of AZZ from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of AZZ to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of AZZ from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AZZ currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $112.29.

Insider Transactions at AZZ

In other news, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.60, for a total value of $558,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 22,709 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,534,324.40. The trade was a 18.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 26,516 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.85, for a total transaction of $2,939,298.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 183,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,305,724.70. This represents a 12.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 46,837 shares of company stock valued at $5,195,318 over the last 90 days. 1.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AZZ Stock Down 1.0%

AZZ traded down $1.13 during trading on Thursday, reaching $115.31. The company had a trading volume of 121,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 263,033. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.10. AZZ Inc. has a 12 month low of $70.90 and a 12 month high of $117.35. The business's fifty day moving average price is $106.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.80. The company has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.36 and a beta of 1.30.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 9th. The industrial products company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.19. AZZ had a net margin of 16.40% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The firm had revenue of $421,962 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $435.91 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. AZZ has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.750-6.250 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

AZZ Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a $0.20 dividend. This is a boost from AZZ's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. AZZ's payout ratio is presently 9.27%.

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.