Robeco Schweiz AG Purchases 16,600 Shares of AZZ Inc. $AZZ

Key Points

• Robeco Schweiz AG increased its stake in AZZ by 41.5% in Q4, purchasing 16,600 shares to hold 56,600 shares worth about $6.07 million, and institutional investors now own roughly 90.9% of the company with multiple funds (UBS, Jane Street, RBC, AQR) adding positions.
• AZZ beat Q1 expectations with $1.34 EPS (vs. $1.19 est.) and 9.4% revenue growth, set FY2027 guidance of 6.50–7.00 EPS, and its board approved a $100 million buyback while declaring a $0.20 quarterly dividend (≈0.5% yield).
• Analyst views are mixed but the consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average target of $141.80; ratings are split (four Buy, four Hold) and recent targets range as high as $155.

Robeco Schweiz AG grew its holdings in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Free Report) by 41.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,600 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 16,600 shares during the period. Robeco Schweiz AG owned 0.19% of AZZ worth $6,066,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AZZ. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in AZZ by 8.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 12,619 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AZZ by 26.2% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,213 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $519,000 after acquiring an additional 1,290 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of AZZ by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 17,488 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,462,000 after acquiring an additional 771 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in AZZ by 21.7% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 84,076 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $7,030,000 after acquiring an additional 14,965 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in AZZ by 185.9% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 51,122 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,274,000 after acquiring an additional 33,238 shares in the last quarter. 90.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Tara D. Mackey sold 2,923 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.00, for a total value of $397,528.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 22,373 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,042,728. The trade was a 11.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AZZ Stock Performance

AZZ stock opened at $146.76 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $4.39 billion, a PE ratio of 13.98 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50 day moving average of $131.53 and a 200-day moving average of $119.43. AZZ Inc. has a 12-month low of $86.67 and a 12-month high of $147.33.

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

AZZ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 23rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. AZZ's dividend payout ratio is 7.62%.

AZZ declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Friday, January 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 2.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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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