AZZ Inc. $AZZ Shares Sold by Gamco Investors INC. ET AL

Key Points

• Gamco Investors reduced its AZZ position by 10% in the fourth quarter, selling 55,521 shares and ending with 499,565 shares valued at about $53.5 million.
• AZZ reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.34 versus estimates of $1.19 and revenue of $385.1 million, while revenue rose 9.4% year over year.
• The company also announced a $100 million share repurchase program and a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, while analysts currently hold a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a $141.80 price target.

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL trimmed its stake in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Free Report) by 10.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 499,565 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 55,521 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned about 1.67% of AZZ worth $53,543,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. ARS Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AZZ by 62.9% in the 4th quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC now owns 3,443 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $369,000 after buying an additional 1,329 shares during the period. Convergence Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AZZ by 48.6% in the 4th quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 13,613 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,459,000 after buying an additional 4,451 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of AZZ by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 6,882 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $738,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al lifted its holdings in shares of AZZ by 86.0% in the 4th quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 9,300 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $997,000 after buying an additional 4,300 shares during the period. Finally, Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of AZZ in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $686,000. 90.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AZZ Stock Performance

Shares of AZZ stock opened at $141.17 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $133.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.74. The stock has a market cap of $4.22 billion, a PE ratio of 13.44 and a beta of 1.17. AZZ Inc. has a 1 year low of $86.67 and a 1 year high of $151.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.70.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $385.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $382.24 million. AZZ had a return on equity of 14.47% and a net margin of 19.23%.AZZ's revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. AZZ has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.500-7.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that AZZ Inc. will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 23rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. AZZ's payout ratio is currently 7.62%.

AZZ declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, January 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 2.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on AZZ shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut AZZ from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $127.00 to $132.00 in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on AZZ from $125.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. B. Riley Financial raised their price target on AZZ from $167.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Noble Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of AZZ in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $152.00 price target on shares of AZZ in a report on Monday, April 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $141.80.

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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