Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Sells 1,313 Shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) by 23.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,313 shares during the quarter. AZZ accounts for about 1.7% of Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in AZZ were worth $337,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AZZ in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of AZZ in the 4th quarter valued at $197,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AZZ in the 1st quarter valued at $215,000. Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AZZ in the 1st quarter valued at $237,000. Finally, Beddow Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AZZ in the 4th quarter valued at $238,000. Institutional investors own 90.93% of the company’s stock.

AZZ Trading Up 1.7 %

AZZ stock traded up $1.29 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $76.66. 88,653 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 253,541. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $78.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.89. The company has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a PE ratio of 21.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.25. AZZ Inc. has a one year low of $40.07 and a one year high of $86.94.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.93 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 analyst estimates of $351.67 million. AZZ had a return on equity of 15.66% and a net margin of 6.61%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.30 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that AZZ Inc. will post 4.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. AZZ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AZZ. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on AZZ in a research report on Monday, May 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered AZZ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Noble Financial upgraded AZZ from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on AZZ in a research report on Friday, June 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. Finally, B. Riley lifted their target price on AZZ from $67.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AZZ currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.75.

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.