AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) Holdings Increased by Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its holdings in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Free Report) by 151.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,193 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 12,178 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky owned 0.07% of AZZ worth $1,654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of AZZ by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,110,831 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $90,999,000 after acquiring an additional 29,306 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in AZZ by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 882,308 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $72,279,000 after purchasing an additional 142,215 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of AZZ by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 311,938 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $25,852,000 after purchasing an additional 15,952 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of AZZ by 21.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 298,084 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $24,419,000 after buying an additional 52,281 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of AZZ by 35.7% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 258,912 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $21,210,000 after buying an additional 68,131 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.93% of the company's stock.

AZZ Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:AZZ traded down $1.38 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $86.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 286,435 shares, compared to its average volume of 233,221. AZZ Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $69.59 and a fifty-two week high of $99.49. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $85.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.77. The company has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a PE ratio of 58.62, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.22.

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

AZZ Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 24th will be paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 24th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. AZZ's payout ratio is currently 42.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. B. Riley boosted their price target on AZZ from $99.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Noble Financial restated an "outperform" rating on shares of AZZ in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Roth Capital upgraded shares of AZZ to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Sidoti raised shares of AZZ from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $101.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Roth Mkm initiated coverage on shares of AZZ in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $108.00 target price on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $100.71.

AZZ 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.