Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Has $49.10 Million Stock Position in AZZ Inc. $AZZ

Key Points

• Gamco Investors INC. ET AL has reduced its stake in AZZ Inc. by 1.1%, now holding 587,248 shares valued at approximately $49.1 million.
• Recent analysts' ratings indicate a mostly positive outlook, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $112.29 for AZZ stock.
• AZZ has announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.17 to $0.20 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 0.7%.

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL reduced its position in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 587,248 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 6,370 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned 1.96% of AZZ worth $49,100,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AZZ. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its position in AZZ by 2,150.0% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 855 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in AZZ by 1,121.3% in the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 977 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted 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 valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 639 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of AZZ by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,298 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. 90.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was 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 approximately $2,534,324.40. This trade represents a 18.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kurt L. Russell sold 10,321 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.21, for a total value of $1,158,119.41. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 16,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,885,576.84. This trade represents a 38.05% 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 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.77% of the company's stock.

AZZ Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of AZZ stock traded down $1.94 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $113.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 170,812 shares, compared to its average volume of 284,731. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. AZZ Inc. has a 1-year low of $70.90 and a 1-year high of $117.35. The company has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a PE ratio of 13.10 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a fifty day moving average of $106.72 and a 200 day moving average of $94.93.

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

AZZ Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from AZZ's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. AZZ's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded AZZ from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Zacks Research cut AZZ from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of AZZ from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Noble Financial restated an "outperform" rating on shares of AZZ in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded AZZ to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AZZ presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $112.29.

AZZ 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.