Legal & General Group Plc Buys New Stake in AZZ Inc. $AZZ

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 67,144 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,411,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of AZZ in the second quarter valued at $2,186,000. Algert Global LLC increased its position in AZZ by 142.5% during the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 88,540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,728,000 after purchasing an additional 52,030 shares in the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp acquired a new position in AZZ in the 2nd quarter valued at about $605,000. Orchard Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in AZZ in the 2nd quarter valued at about $605,000. Finally, De Lisle Partners LLP purchased a new position in AZZ in the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,148,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of AZZ from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. B. Riley Financial raised their target price on shares of AZZ from $169.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AZZ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded AZZ from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.25.

AZZ Price Performance

AZZ opened at $137.27 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. AZZ Inc. has a 52-week low of $92.98 and a 52-week high of $162.20. The company has a 50 day moving average of $148.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $140.54. The company has a market cap of $4.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.93 and a beta of 1.12.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 8th. The industrial products company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $448.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $434.58 million. AZZ had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 14.18%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. AZZ has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.750-7.150 EPS. On average, analysts expect that AZZ Inc. will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current year.

AZZ Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from AZZ’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. AZZ’s payout ratio is currently 14.63%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Jeffrey Vellines sold 4,220 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.55, for a total value of $647,981.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 1,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $281,610.70. This represents a 69.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 2,677 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.07, for a total value of $401,737.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 35,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,252,450. This trade represents a 7.11% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

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.