Royal Bank of Canada Decreases Position in AZZ Inc. $AZZ

Royal Bank of Canada cut its holdings in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) by 16.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,508 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,285 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in AZZ were worth $3,441,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AZZ. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of AZZ by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,357,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $359,843,000 after buying an additional 80,099 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of AZZ by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,009,812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $215,412,000 after buying an additional 48,565 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AZZ by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,783,663 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $191,174,000 after acquiring an additional 15,744 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of AZZ by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,182,140 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $126,706,000 after acquiring an additional 49,509 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in AZZ by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 771,358 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $82,674,000 after acquiring an additional 51,463 shares during the period. 90.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at AZZ

In related news, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 2,677 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.07, for a total transaction of $401,737.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 35,000 shares in the company, valued at $5,252,450. This represents a 7.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey Vellines sold 4,220 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.55, for a total value of $647,981.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $281,610.70. The trade was a 69.71% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AZZ Stock Performance

AZZ stock opened at $151.34 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $4.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.07 and a beta of 1.12. AZZ Inc. has a 1-year low of $92.98 and a 1-year high of $162.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $149.99 and a 200-day moving average of $139.33.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 8th. The industrial products company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. AZZ has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.750-7.150 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that AZZ Inc. will post 6.93 EPS for the current year.

AZZ Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from AZZ’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 9th. AZZ’s payout ratio is presently 14.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.