Two Sigma Advisers LP Lowers Holdings in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ)

Two Sigma Advisers LP reduced its holdings in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Free Report) by 46.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,500 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 7,400 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP's holdings in AZZ were worth $696,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of AZZ by 44.4% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 8,859 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of AZZ by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 3,451 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of AZZ by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 16,717 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,369,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares during the period. Lionshead Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AZZ in the 4th quarter valued at about $573,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of AZZ by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 12,385 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,015,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. 90.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at AZZ

In related news, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 18,851 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.91, for a total value of $1,694,893.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 192,607 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,317,295.37. This trade represents a 8.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZZ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Noble Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of AZZ in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Roth Mkm initiated coverage on AZZ in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $108.00 price objective for the company. B. Riley increased their price objective on AZZ from $99.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Sidoti raised AZZ from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $101.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Roth Capital raised AZZ to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AZZ presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $100.71.

AZZ Stock Performance

Shares of AZZ stock traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $93.13. 171,616 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 222,093. The company has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.25. The company's 50 day moving average is $86.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.34. AZZ Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.59 and a 1 year high of $99.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $351.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $367.78 million. AZZ had a return on equity of 16.99% and a net margin of 7.94%. Equities research analysts anticipate that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 24th were paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 24th. AZZ's payout ratio is currently 42.77%.

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.