AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $95.80.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AZZ. Robert W. Baird began coverage on AZZ in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of AZZ in a research report on Monday, May 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of AZZ in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of AZZ in a research report on Friday, June 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Noble Financial upgraded AZZ from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling at AZZ

In other AZZ news, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 14,545 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.79, for a total transaction of $1,233,270.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,695,800. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 14,545 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.79, for a total value of $1,233,270.55. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,695,800. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Tara D. Mackey sold 331 shares of AZZ stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total value of $27,638.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,858,121.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have acquired 1,511 shares of company stock worth $52,794 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AZZ. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in AZZ during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of AZZ by 69.4% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 459 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of AZZ during the 2nd quarter worth $52,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of AZZ in the second quarter worth $67,000. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in AZZ in the second quarter valued at about $72,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.93% of the company’s stock.

AZZ Trading Up 2.3 %

NYSE AZZ opened at $83.17 on Wednesday. AZZ has a one year low of $43.48 and a one year high of $88.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $79.00 and its 200-day moving average is $77.54.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.16. AZZ had a net margin of 7.22% and a return on equity of 17.08%. The firm had revenue of $413.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $403.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AZZ will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 10th. AZZ’s payout ratio is currently 63.55%.

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.