Rhumbline Advisers Reduces Stake in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ)

Rhumbline Advisers reduced its holdings in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Free Report) by 6.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 81,849 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 5,379 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.27% of AZZ worth $6,843,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AZZ. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in AZZ by 36.3% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,379 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in AZZ in the fourth quarter worth about $4,037,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its position in AZZ by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 24,151 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,978,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of AZZ by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 164,840 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $13,504,000 after purchasing an additional 7,422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wakefield Asset Management LLLP bought a new position in shares of AZZ during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,008,000. 90.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Sidoti downgraded AZZ from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $101.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday. Noble Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of AZZ in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $101.67.

AZZ Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of AZZ traded down $1.17 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $91.27. 80,203 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 220,856. The company has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a PE ratio of 61.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The business has a 50 day moving average of $87.56 and a 200 day moving average of $88.48. AZZ Inc. has a 1-year low of $69.59 and a 1-year high of $99.49.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.03. AZZ had a return on equity of 16.99% and a net margin of 7.94%. The company had revenue of $351.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $367.78 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

AZZ Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 24th were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 24th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. AZZ's payout ratio is 42.77%.

Insider Transactions at AZZ

In other AZZ news, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 26,889 shares of AZZ stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.88, for a total transaction of $2,309,227.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,458 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,160,013.04. The trade was a 11.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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.