The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 14,096 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,186,000.
A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Lido Advisors LLC grew its position in AZZ by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 2,633 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AZZ by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,723 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in AZZ by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 6,882 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $738,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in AZZ by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 10,593 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,135,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in AZZ by 92.5% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 258 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.93% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
AZZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on AZZ from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen cut AZZ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. B. Riley Financial increased their target price on AZZ from $169.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered AZZ from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AZZ currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.25.
AZZ Stock Down 0.3%
Shares of AZZ stock opened at $135.38 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $147.43 and its 200 day moving average is $140.52. AZZ Inc. has a one year low of $92.98 and a one year high of $162.20. The firm has a market cap of $4.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.64 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.39.
AZZ (NYSE:AZZ – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 8th. The industrial products company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $448.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $434.58 million. AZZ had a return on equity of 14.18% and a net margin of 11.83%.The company’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. AZZ has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.750-7.150 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that AZZ Inc. will post 6.93 EPS for the current year.
AZZ Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is a boost from AZZ’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 9th. AZZ’s payout ratio is currently 14.63%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 2,677 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.07, for a total transaction of $401,737.39. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 35,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,252,450. This represents a 7.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey Vellines sold 4,220 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.55, for a total transaction of $647,981.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,834 shares in the company, valued at $281,610.70. This trade represents a 69.71% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.
AZZ Company Profile
AZZ Inc, incorporated in 1956 and headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, is a leading provider of galvanizing and metal finishing solutions alongside electrical equipment and services. The company supports a diverse range of industries—such as energy, infrastructure, heavy equipment and general industrial markets—by delivering corrosion protection and high-performance electrical solutions designed for demanding environments.
AZZ operates two primary business segments. The Global Coatings & Services segment offers hot-dip galvanizing, metal finishing, painting, powder coating and related value-added services to steel fabricators and original equipment manufacturers.
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