Pacer Advisors Inc. Reduces Holdings in AZZ Inc. $AZZ

Pacer Advisors Inc. lowered its position in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) by 7.8% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 137,968 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 11,657 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in AZZ were worth $17,264,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZZ. SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new stake in shares of AZZ during the first quarter valued at about $45,297,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AZZ by 222.5% in the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 466,140 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $49,961,000 after acquiring an additional 321,611 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of AZZ by 861.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 315,485 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $33,814,000 after acquiring an additional 282,676 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of AZZ by 93.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 549,291 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $58,873,000 after acquiring an additional 264,956 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc purchased a new position in AZZ in the fourth quarter valued at about $18,429,000. 90.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AZZ Stock Up 2.3%

NYSE:AZZ opened at $152.65 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.92. The company has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.27 and a beta of 1.12. AZZ Inc. has a one year low of $92.98 and a one year high of $162.20. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $137.87.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 8th. The industrial products company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $448.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $434.58 million. AZZ had a return on equity of 14.18% and a net margin of 11.83%.AZZ’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. AZZ has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.750-7.150 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that AZZ Inc. will post 6.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from AZZ’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. AZZ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $152.00 price objective on shares of AZZ in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on AZZ from $125.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on AZZ from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. B. Riley Financial raised their price target on shares of AZZ from $169.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of AZZ from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AZZ presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.25.

AZZ 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.