AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $100.67.

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Roth Mkm initiated coverage on shares of AZZ in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $108.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price 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 increased their target price on AZZ from $99.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Roth Capital raised AZZ to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th.

AZZ Stock Performance

NYSE:AZZ opened at $94.70 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $88.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.48. The stock has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.30. AZZ has a twelve month low of $69.59 and a twelve month high of $99.49.

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

AZZ Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. AZZ’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AZZ

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AZZ. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AZZ by 3,790.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 389 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew 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 period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in AZZ by 202.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of AZZ by 51.2% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 694 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of AZZ by 2,150.0% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 855 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. 90.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About AZZ

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.