AZZ Inc. $AZZ Shares Sold by Invesco Ltd.

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. reduced its stake in AZZ Inc. by 29.4% during the 1st quarter, now holding approximately 210,498 shares worth $17.6 million.
• AZZ's recent earnings revealed an EPS of $1.78, surpassing estimates by $0.19, despite a slight revenue miss compared to expectations.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.20 per share, reflecting a 0.7% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 9.27%.

Invesco Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Free Report) by 29.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 210,498 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 87,586 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 0.70% of AZZ worth $17,600,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AZZ. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in shares of AZZ by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 31,854 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,610,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AZZ by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,749 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $799,000 after purchasing an additional 1,685 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AZZ during the 4th quarter worth $5,052,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of AZZ by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 53,402 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,375,000 after purchasing an additional 1,944 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of AZZ by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,110,831 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $90,999,000 after purchasing an additional 29,306 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.93% of the company's stock.

AZZ Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE AZZ traded up $0.63 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $116.21. The company had a trading volume of 364,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 290,560. AZZ Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $70.90 and a fifty-two week high of $117.35. The company has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.47 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm's 50 day moving average is $106.20 and its 200 day moving average is $94.80.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 9th. The industrial products company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.19. AZZ had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 16.40%.The firm had revenue of $421,962 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $435.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. AZZ has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.750-6.250 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AZZ shares. Evercore ISI increased their price target on AZZ from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised AZZ to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on AZZ from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Sidoti lowered AZZ from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $101.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, June 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $112.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.60, for a total transaction of $558,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 22,709 shares in the company, valued at $2,534,324.40. This trade represents a 18.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 26,516 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.85, for a total value of $2,939,298.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 183,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,305,724.70. This represents a 12.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,837 shares of company stock worth $5,195,318 over the last ninety days. Corporate 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.