AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) Shares Acquired by Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its stake in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Free Report) by 13.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,886 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,693 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky owned about 0.08% of AZZ worth $1,913,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AZZ in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,052,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in AZZ by 17.6% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 5,676 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $465,000 after purchasing an additional 850 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in shares of AZZ in the 4th quarter worth $225,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of AZZ by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 63,111 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,170,000 after purchasing an additional 5,145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in AZZ by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 16,745 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,372,000 after buying an additional 1,767 shares in the last quarter. 90.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AZZ Stock Down 0.3%

AZZ traded down $0.36 on Thursday, hitting $109.37. The company had a trading volume of 243,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 392,895. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.67 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $96.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $90.71. AZZ Inc. has a 12-month low of $69.59 and a 12-month high of $113.58.

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

AZZ Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is a positive change from AZZ's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. AZZ's payout ratio is presently 9.27%.

Insider Transactions at AZZ

In other AZZ news, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.98, for a total value of $539,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 27,709 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,992,017.82. This trade represents a 15.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 26,516 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.85, for a total transaction of $2,939,298.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 183,182 shares in the company, valued at $20,305,724.70. This trade represents a 12.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 77,256 shares of company stock worth $7,483,319 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AZZ. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AZZ from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Noble Financial restated an "outperform" rating on shares of AZZ in a report on Monday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on AZZ from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on AZZ from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Sidoti downgraded 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AZZ has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $108.00.

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.