AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) Short Interest Down 14.1% in February

AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 829,762 shares, a drop of 14.1% from the February 12th total of 966,184 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 181,720 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.6 days. Currently, 2.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Currently, 2.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 181,720 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.6 days.

Insider Activity at AZZ

In other news, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.29, for a total value of $3,182,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 158,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,134,986.78. This represents a 13.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Tara D. Mackey sold 2,923 shares of AZZ stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.00, for a total transaction of $397,528.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 22,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,042,728. This represents a 11.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 33,281 shares of company stock valued at $4,239,080 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AZZ

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZZ. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of AZZ by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 12,619 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in AZZ by 26.2% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,213 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $519,000 after buying an additional 1,290 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in AZZ by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 17,488 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,462,000 after buying an additional 771 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of AZZ by 21.7% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 84,076 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,030,000 after buying an additional 14,965 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of AZZ by 185.9% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 51,122 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,274,000 after buying an additional 33,238 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AZZ. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $137.00 price target on shares of AZZ in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird set a $125.00 price objective on shares of AZZ in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded AZZ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AZZ in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered AZZ from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $127.00 to $132.00 in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.00.

AZZ Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE AZZ traded down $0.33 on Tuesday, hitting $123.63. 182,733 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 176,228. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a PE ratio of 11.62 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $127.74 and a 200-day moving average of $113.98. AZZ has a 12 month low of $70.90 and a 12 month high of $141.18.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 7th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $425.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $412.97 million. AZZ had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 14.45%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.39 earnings per share. AZZ has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.900-6.200 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that AZZ will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

AZZ Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 5th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. AZZ’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.52%.

AZZ declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Friday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 2.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

AZZ Company Profile

AZZ Inc, incorporated in 1956 and headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, is a leading provider of galvanizing and metal finishing solutions alongside electrical equipment and services. The company supports a diverse range of industries—such as energy, infrastructure, heavy equipment and general industrial markets—by delivering corrosion protection and high-performance electrical solutions designed for demanding environments.

AZZ operates two primary business segments. The Global Coatings & Services segment offers hot-dip galvanizing, metal finishing, painting, powder coating and related value-added services to steel fabricators and original equipment manufacturers.