AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) Hits New 12-Month High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $82.41 and last traded at $81.86, with a volume of 150290 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $76.50.

The industrial products company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.23. AZZ had a net margin of 6.61% and a return on equity of 15.66%. The firm had revenue of $366.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $351.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. AZZ’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis.

AZZ Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 17th will be given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 16th. AZZ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. B. Riley upped their price target on shares of AZZ from $67.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Noble Financial lowered shares of AZZ from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of AZZ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th.

Institutional Trading of AZZ

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in AZZ during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in AZZ by 131.5% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 903 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in AZZ during the first quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AZZ during the first quarter valued at approximately $237,000. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of AZZ during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $197,000. 90.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AZZ Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $75.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.28.

AZZ Company Profile

AZZ Inc provides hot-dip galvanizing and coil coating solutions in the United States, Canada, Brazil, China, the Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, and India. The company operates through AZZ Metal Coatings and AZZ Precoat Metals segments. The AZZ Metal Coatings segment offers metal finishing solutions for corrosion protection, including hot-dip galvanizing, spin galvanizing, powder coating, anodizing, and plating to steel fabrication and other industries.