Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Position in AZZ Inc. $AZZ

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,357,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 80,099 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of AZZ worth $359,843,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in AZZ by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 162,812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $17,768,000 after acquiring an additional 14,430 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new position in AZZ in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,120,000. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in AZZ in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,032,000. Robeco Schweiz AG bought a new stake in AZZ in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,365,000. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of AZZ by 8.7% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,961,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $214,031,000 after purchasing an additional 157,529 shares during the period. 90.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Tara D. Mackey sold 2,923 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.00, for a total value of $397,528.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,042,728. This represents a 11.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AZZ. B. Riley Financial raised their target price on shares of AZZ from $167.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of AZZ from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $127.00 to $132.00 in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of AZZ from $125.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AZZ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Noble Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of AZZ in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.80.

AZZ Price Performance

AZZ opened at $146.76 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.39 billion, a PE ratio of 13.98 and a beta of 1.17. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $131.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $119.43. AZZ Inc. has a 52-week low of $86.67 and a 52-week high of $147.33.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $385.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $382.24 million. AZZ had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 14.47%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. AZZ has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.500-7.000 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that AZZ Inc. will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

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 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 2.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

AZZ Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 23rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. AZZ’s payout ratio is presently 7.62%.

About AZZ

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.