AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) Shares Down 4.9% – Here’s Why

by · The Cerbat Gem

AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ – Get Free Report) dropped 4.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $86.39 and last traded at $86.00. Approximately 145,347 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 39% from the average daily volume of 238,082 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.48.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Read Our Latest Stock Report on AZZ

AZZ Trading Down 1.6 %

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 business has a 50-day moving average of $90.36 and a 200-day moving average of $85.73. The stock has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.16, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.27.

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

AZZ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th were paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. AZZ’s payout ratio is presently 45.95%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AZZ

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AZZ by 3,790.0% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 389 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in AZZ by 6.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 157,418 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,004,000 after purchasing an additional 10,038 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its holdings in AZZ by 9.7% during the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 23,997 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,982,000 after purchasing an additional 2,114 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of AZZ by 54.6% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,911,000 after purchasing an additional 12,451 shares during the period. Finally, Chesapeake Capital Corp IL lifted its stake in shares of AZZ by 27.9% in the third quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL now owns 16,540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,361,000 after buying an additional 3,609 shares during the last quarter. 90.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AZZ Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

Further Reading