Pier Capital LLC Takes $7.61 Million Position in AZZ Inc. $AZZ

Key Points

• Pier Capital LLC bought a new stake of 70,967 shares of AZZ in the fourth quarter, valued at about $7.61 million, representing roughly 0.24% of the company.
• AZZ beat quarterly estimates with $1.34 EPS (vs. $1.19 expected) and $385.1M revenue (up 9.4% YoY), and set FY2027 guidance of $6.50–$7.00 EPS (analysts’ consensus ~6.8 EPS).
• The board authorized a $100 million share repurchase program (up to ~2.7% of shares) and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share ($0.80 annual, ~0.6% yield).

Pier Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 70,967 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $7,606,000. Pier Capital LLC owned approximately 0.24% of AZZ at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AZZ by 9.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 162,812 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $17,768,000 after acquiring an additional 14,430 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new position in shares of AZZ in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,120,000. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in shares of AZZ in the third quarter worth approximately $1,032,000. Robeco Schweiz AG acquired a new position in shares of AZZ in the third quarter worth approximately $4,365,000. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of AZZ by 8.7% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,961,247 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $214,031,000 after acquiring an additional 157,529 shares during the period. 90.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AZZ shares. Wall Street Zen lowered AZZ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $152.00 price target on shares of AZZ in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Noble Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of AZZ in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on AZZ from $125.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered AZZ from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $127.00 to $132.00 in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $141.80.

AZZ Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of AZZ stock opened at $144.10 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $119.75. AZZ Inc. has a 12-month low of $86.67 and a 12-month high of $147.96. The company has a market capitalization of $4.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.72 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.15. AZZ had a return on equity of 14.47% and a net margin of 19.23%.The business had revenue of $385.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $382.24 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. AZZ's revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. AZZ has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.500-7.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AZZ Inc. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 23rd. AZZ's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.62%.

AZZ declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Friday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase up to 2.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at AZZ

In other news, insider Tara D. Mackey sold 2,923 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.00, for a total transaction of $397,528.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 22,373 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,042,728. This represents a 11.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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