11,200 Shares in AZZ Inc. $AZZ Acquired by OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp

Key Points

• OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp has acquired 11,200 shares of AZZ Inc., worth about $936,000, indicating significant institutional interest in the company during the 1st quarter.
• AZZ recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.17 to $0.20, maintaining a modest yield of 0.7% and a low dividend payout ratio of 9.27%.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on AZZ, with ratings ranging from "Strong Buy" to "Hold," and the consensus price target is set at $112.29.

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new stake in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 11,200 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $936,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AZZ. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of AZZ by 35.6% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of AZZ by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 28,264 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,316,000 after acquiring an additional 1,882 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of AZZ by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 352,225 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $28,854,000 after acquiring an additional 64,023 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of AZZ during the 4th quarter worth about $211,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of AZZ by 554.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 251,823 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $20,629,000 after acquiring an additional 213,355 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.93% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AZZ. Sidoti downgraded AZZ from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $101.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Zacks Research downgraded AZZ from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on AZZ from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on AZZ from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded AZZ to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AZZ has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $112.29.

Insider Transactions at AZZ

In other news, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 26,516 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,305,724.70. This represents a 12.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Kurt L. Russell sold 10,321 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 16,804 shares of the company's stock, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,837 shares of company stock valued at $5,195,318. Corporate insiders own 1.77% of the company's stock.

AZZ Stock Performance

AZZ stock traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $116.90. The stock had a trading volume of 115,648 shares, compared to its average volume of 227,285. The company has a 50-day moving average of $109.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a PE ratio of 13.55 and a beta of 1.30. AZZ Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $70.90 and a fifty-two week high of $118.72.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $421.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $435.91 million. AZZ had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 16.40%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. AZZ has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.750-6.250 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Increases Dividend

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

About AZZ

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.