StockNews.com downgraded shares of AZZ (NYSE:AZZ – Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning.
A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on AZZ. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on AZZ in a research report on Monday. They issued a buy rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. Noble Financial lowered AZZ from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, B. Riley increased their price target on AZZ from $67.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $88.33.
AZZ Stock Performance
Shares of AZZ stock traded up $3.24 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $84.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 260,262 shares, compared to its average volume of 248,742. AZZ has a one year low of $34.59 and a one year high of $84.52. The firm has a market cap of $2.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.26. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $76.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.89.
AZZ (NYSE:AZZ – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $366.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $351.67 million. AZZ had a net margin of 6.61% and a return on equity of 15.66%. The company’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AZZ will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.
AZZ Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 17th were issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 16th. AZZ’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.83%.
Institutional Trading of AZZ
Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in AZZ during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 513 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AZZ during the first quarter worth approximately $77,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in shares of AZZ during the 1st quarter valued at about $92,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of AZZ by 253.0% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,026 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,452 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.93% of the company’s stock.
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.