AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) Reaches New 1-Year High on Earnings Beat

AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $82.41 and last traded at $81.86, with a volume of 150290 shares. The stock had previously closed at $76.50.

The industrial products company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $366.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $351.67 million. AZZ had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 5.63%. The business's revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.30 EPS.

AZZ Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 16th. AZZ's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AZZ shares. StockNews.com lowered AZZ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Noble Financial lowered AZZ from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, B. Riley increased their target price on AZZ from $67.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AZZ

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AZZ. Tectonic Advisors LLC grew its stake in AZZ by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 15,543 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $903,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of AZZ by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 11,079 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $505,000 after buying an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AZZ in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in AZZ by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,206 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in AZZ by 131.5% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 903 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.93% of the company's stock.

AZZ Trading Up 8.5 %

The company has a fifty day moving average of $75.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.28.

AZZ Company Profile

AZZ Inc provides hot-dip galvanizing and coil coating solutions in the United States, Canada, Brazil, China, the Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, and India. The company operates through AZZ Metal Coatings and AZZ Precoat Metals segments. The AZZ Metal Coatings segment offers metal finishing solutions for corrosion protection, including hot-dip galvanizing, spin galvanizing, powder coating, anodizing, and plating to steel fabrication and other industries.