Brokerages Set AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) Target Price at $95.80

AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $95.80.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AZZ shares. Baird R W upgraded AZZ to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of AZZ in a research note on Friday, June 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. B. Riley increased their price objective on shares of AZZ from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of AZZ in a report on Monday, May 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $105.00 target price for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on AZZ in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock.

AZZ Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AZZ opened at $77.88 on Wednesday. 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 $2.32 billion, a PE ratio of 72.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.65. AZZ has a fifty-two week low of $43.48 and a fifty-two week high of $88.67.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $413.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $403.25 million. AZZ had a net margin of 7.22% and a return on equity of 17.08%. AZZ’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that AZZ will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. AZZ’s payout ratio is currently 63.55%.

Insider Activity

In other AZZ news, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 14,545 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.79, for a total transaction of $1,233,270.55. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,695,800. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Tara D. Mackey sold 331 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total transaction of $27,638.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 34,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,858,121.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 14,545 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.79, for a total transaction of $1,233,270.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,695,800. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have acquired 1,511 shares of company stock worth $52,794 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AZZ

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AZZ. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AZZ by 1.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,726,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $210,750,000 after acquiring an additional 28,609 shares during the last quarter. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in AZZ during the 4th quarter worth $1,162,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in AZZ by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,055,634 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $61,322,000 after purchasing an additional 106,091 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of AZZ by 325.3% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 122,141 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,435,000 after buying an additional 93,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of AZZ by 176.7% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 19,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,525,000 after buying an additional 12,599 shares during the last quarter. 90.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.