First Trust Advisors LP Acquires 14,486 Shares of AZZ Inc. $AZZ

First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Free Report) by 28.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 65,002 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 14,486 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.22% of AZZ worth $8,134,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new position in AZZ in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $45,297,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AZZ by 222.5% during the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 466,140 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $49,961,000 after purchasing an additional 321,611 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of AZZ by 861.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 315,485 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $33,814,000 after purchasing an additional 282,676 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of AZZ by 93.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 549,291 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $58,873,000 after purchasing an additional 264,956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc acquired a new stake in AZZ in the fourth quarter valued at $18,429,000. 90.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AZZ. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on AZZ from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on AZZ from $125.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $152.00 price target on shares of AZZ in a research note on Monday, April 27th. B. Riley Financial raised their price objective on AZZ from $169.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered AZZ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $155.25.

AZZ Stock Performance

Shares of AZZ stock opened at $144.96 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $147.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $137.34. AZZ Inc. has a 1-year low of $92.98 and a 1-year high of $162.20. The company has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.10 and a beta of 1.11.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 8th. The industrial products company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.05. AZZ had a return on equity of 14.18% and a net margin of 11.83%.The firm had revenue of $448.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $434.58 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. AZZ has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.750-7.150 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that AZZ Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

AZZ Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from AZZ's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 9th. AZZ's payout ratio is presently 14.63%.

AZZ Profile

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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