Squarepoint Ops LLC Purchases Shares of 31,227 AZZ Inc. $AZZ

Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 31,227 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,950,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned about 0.10% of AZZ as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AZZ. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of AZZ by 206.7% during the second quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in AZZ during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in AZZ during the second quarter valued at about $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AZZ by 39.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 374 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AZZ by 1,145.3% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 934 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 859 shares in the last quarter. 90.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AZZ Trading Up 0.8%

AZZ stock opened at $109.07 on Wednesday. AZZ Inc. has a 12 month low of $70.90 and a 12 month high of $119.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.49 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $102.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.84.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 9th. The industrial products company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. AZZ had a return on equity of 15.01% and a net margin of 19.69%.The business had revenue of $129.87 million during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 16th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 16th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. AZZ’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AZZ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. B. Riley increased their target price on AZZ from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AZZ in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on AZZ from $128.00 to $121.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AZZ has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.33.

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.