Lazard Asset Management LLC Boosts Stake in The AZEK Company Inc. (NYSE:AZEK)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in The AZEK Company Inc. (NYSE:AZEK - Free Report) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 342,922 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,984 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned about 0.24% of AZEK worth $16,278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AZEK. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of AZEK by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,430,833 shares of the company's stock worth $685,032,000 after purchasing an additional 54,725 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of AZEK by 80.7% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,311,577 shares of the company's stock worth $584,431,000 after purchasing an additional 5,499,986 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of AZEK by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,294,619 shares of the company's stock worth $156,396,000 after purchasing an additional 429,574 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its position in shares of AZEK by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,084,014 shares of the company's stock worth $98,928,000 after purchasing an additional 216,849 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AZEK during the fourth quarter worth about $94,987,000. 97.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at AZEK

In other news, CEO Jesse G. Singh sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.40, for a total transaction of $1,028,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 852,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,832,121. The trade was a 2.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

AZEK Stock Performance

AZEK traded down $0.14 during trading on Friday, reaching $51.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,565,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,212,393. The AZEK Company Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.48 and a 52-week high of $54.91. The company's fifty day moving average price is $47.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.34. The company has a market capitalization of $7.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.56.

AZEK (NYSE:AZEK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $452.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $444.75 million. AZEK had a return on equity of 13.47% and a net margin of 9.85%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that The AZEK Company Inc. will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZEK has been the topic of several recent research reports. William Blair restated a "market perform" rating on shares of AZEK in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on AZEK from $55.00 to $49.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $51.50 price target (down previously from $61.00) on shares of AZEK in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on AZEK from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Baird R W cut AZEK from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AZEK currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $53.93.

About AZEK

The AZEK Company Inc engages in the design, manufacturing, and selling of building products for residential, commercial, and industrial markets in the United States and Canada. It operates through two segments: Residential and Commercial. The Residential segment designs and manufactures engineered outdoor living products, such as decking, railing, trim and molding, siding and cladding, pergolas and cabanas, and accessories under the TimberTech, AZEK Exteriors, VERSATEX, ULTRALOX, StruXure, and INTEX brands.