Contravisory Investment Management Inc. Acquires New Holdings in AZZ Inc. $AZZ

Key Points

• Contravisory Investment Management Inc. has acquired a new position in AZZ Inc., purchasing 2,804 shares valued at approximately $265,000.
• AZZ's quarterly earnings report showed earnings per share of $1.78, surpassing consensus estimates and indicating a revenue increase of 2.1% compared to the previous year.
• The company has announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.17 to $0.20 per share, reflecting a positive change in shareholder returns.

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,804 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $265,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AZZ by 110.0% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 399 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of AZZ by 1,121.3% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of AZZ by 140.1% in the first 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 in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in AZZ by 97.0% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,389 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Widmann Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in AZZ during the first quarter valued at $204,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.93% of the company's stock.

AZZ Trading Up 0.5%

AZZ stock traded up $0.62 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $114.54. 146,112 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 247,254. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.51. AZZ Inc. has a one year low of $70.90 and a one year high of $119.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a PE ratio of 13.27 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $112.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.27.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 9th. The industrial products company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $421.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $435.91 million. AZZ had a net margin of 16.40% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. AZZ has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.750-6.250 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

AZZ Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. 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%. AZZ's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AZZ shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of AZZ from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AZZ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of AZZ from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Noble Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of AZZ in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of AZZ from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $116.43.

Insider Transactions at AZZ

In other news, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.60, for a total value of $558,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 22,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,534,324.40. This represents a 18.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Kurt L. Russell sold 10,321 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.21, for a total transaction of $1,158,119.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 16,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,885,576.84. The trade was a 38.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 46,837 shares of company stock worth $5,195,318. Insiders own 1.77% of the company's stock.

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.