Zacks Research Downgrades AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) to Hold

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded AZZ from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating, indicating a shift in analyst sentiment towards the stock.
• AZZ's current price target consensus stands at $112.29, with a overall rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts.
• Recent insider transactions reveal significant selling activity, with CEO Thomas E. Ferguson reducing his stake by 12.64% after selling 26,516 shares.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

AZZ has been the subject of a number of other reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of AZZ from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Sidoti cut shares of AZZ from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $101.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, June 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of AZZ to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Noble Financial restated an "outperform" rating on shares of AZZ in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of AZZ from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AZZ has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $112.29.

AZZ Stock Performance

NYSE AZZ opened at $112.7050 on Monday. AZZ has a 1 year low of $70.90 and a 1 year high of $117.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.06 and a beta of 1.30. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $103.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.85.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 9th. The industrial products company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $421,962 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $435.91 million. AZZ had a net margin of 16.40% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. AZZ has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.750-6.250 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that AZZ will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AZZ

In other news, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 26,516 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.85, for a total value of $2,939,298.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 183,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,305,724.70. This represents a 12.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.60, for a total transaction of $558,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 22,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,534,324.40. The trade was a 18.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 46,837 shares of company stock valued at $5,195,318. 1.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AZZ

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of AZZ by 2.3% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 168,694 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $14,105,000 after purchasing an additional 3,854 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AZZ by 16.6% during the first quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 3,316 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its stake in shares of AZZ by 151.9% during the fourth quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 20,193 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,654,000 after purchasing an additional 12,178 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of AZZ by 16,255.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 22,407 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,873,000 after purchasing an additional 22,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of AZZ during the first quarter valued at approximately $338,000. 90.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About AZZ

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.

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