Intech Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Position in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ)

Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) by 115.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 23,015 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 12,355 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC owned about 0.08% of AZZ worth $1,885,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in AZZ by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in AZZ by 202.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in AZZ by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 515 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of AZZ by 50.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,244 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new position in AZZ in the 4th quarter worth approximately $225,000. 90.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZZ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm assumed coverage on AZZ in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $108.00 price objective on the stock. Noble Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AZZ in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of AZZ from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. B. Riley boosted their target price on AZZ from $99.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Roth Capital upgraded shares of AZZ to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.67.

AZZ Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AZZ opened at $83.59 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $90.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.84. AZZ Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.59 and a 52-week high of $99.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 7th. The industrial products company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.10. AZZ had a return on equity of 16.99% and a net margin of 7.94%. The company had revenue of $403.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $394.30 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

AZZ Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. AZZ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.95%.

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.