Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Has $2.55 Million Holdings in AZZ Inc. $AZZ

Key Points

• Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in AZZ Inc. by 62.7%, selling 51,220 shares and holding approximately 30,520 shares valued at $2,552,000.
• AZZ has faced mixed analyst ratings, with Zacks Research downgrading it from "strong-buy" to "hold," while Wells Fargo upgraded it to "strong-buy" with a price target increase from $110.00 to $120.00.
• AZZ recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.17 to $0.20 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of 9.27%.

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Free Report) by 62.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,520 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 51,220 shares during the quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned about 0.10% of AZZ worth $2,552,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of AZZ by 41.4% in the 1st quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 47,291 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,954,000 after purchasing an additional 13,857 shares during the period. Credit Agricole S A grew its position in shares of AZZ by 288.4% in the 1st quarter. Credit Agricole S A now owns 33,591 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,809,000 after acquiring an additional 24,942 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of AZZ by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 4,220 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in AZZ by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 68,712 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,745,000 after purchasing an additional 5,601 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in AZZ by 1,121.3% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 977 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares during the period. 90.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AZZ Stock Down 1.7%

NYSE:AZZ traded down $1.94 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $113.06. 170,812 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 284,731. The firm has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.10 and a beta of 1.30. AZZ Inc. has a twelve month low of $70.90 and a twelve month high of $117.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.51. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $107.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.04.

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

AZZ Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This is a positive change from AZZ's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. AZZ's payout ratio is presently 9.27%.

Insider Activity at AZZ

In other AZZ news, 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 value of $1,158,119.41. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,804 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,885,576.84. This represents a 38.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 26,516 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.85, for a total value of $2,939,298.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 183,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,305,724.70. The trade was a 12.64% 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 valued at $5,195,318. Company insiders own 1.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on AZZ shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised AZZ to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded AZZ from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Sidoti lowered AZZ from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $101.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, June 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on AZZ from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Noble Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of AZZ in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AZZ has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $112.29.

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.