Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in AZZ Inc. $AZZ

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) by 2.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,277,271 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 83,983 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of AZZ worth $357,649,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of AZZ by 40.1% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 458 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of AZZ by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,437 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $921,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in AZZ by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 4,311 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $407,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its position in AZZ by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 8,683 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $948,000 after buying an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its stake in AZZ by 206.7% in the second quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. 90.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AZZ in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Noble Financial restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AZZ in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AZZ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $125.00 price target on AZZ in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AZZ presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $119.00.

AZZ Stock Performance

Shares of AZZ stock opened at $134.32 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.01 billion, a PE ratio of 12.62 and a beta of 1.13. AZZ Inc. has a 52-week low of $70.90 and a 52-week high of $141.18. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $123.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $112.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 7th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $425.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $412.97 million. AZZ had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 19.89%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.39 EPS. AZZ has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.900-6.200 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

AZZ Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 5th. AZZ’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.52%.

AZZ announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, January 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy up to 2.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at AZZ

In related news, insider Tara D. Mackey sold 2,923 shares of AZZ stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.00, for a total value of $397,528.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 22,373 shares in the company, valued at $3,042,728. The trade was a 11.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.29, for a total value of $3,182,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 158,182 shares in the company, valued at $20,134,986.78. This represents a 13.65% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 33,281 shares of company stock worth $4,239,080 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.77% of the company’s stock.

About AZZ

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.