JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Stock Position in AZZ Inc. $AZZ

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) by 7.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 163,954 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,405 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in AZZ were worth $17,892,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AZZ by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 162,812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,768,000 after purchasing an additional 14,430 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in AZZ during the third quarter valued at about $1,032,000. Robeco Schweiz AG purchased a new position in AZZ in the third quarter valued at about $4,365,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in AZZ in the third quarter worth about $1,671,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in AZZ in the third quarter worth about $2,127,000. Institutional investors own 90.93% of the company’s stock.

AZZ Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AZZ opened at $128.35 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.66. The company has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a PE ratio of 12.06 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $128.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $114.42. AZZ Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $70.90 and a fifty-two week high of $141.18.

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

AZZ Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 5th. AZZ’s payout ratio is currently 7.52%.

AZZ announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 2.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AZZ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $125.00 price objective on shares of AZZ in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Noble Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of AZZ in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AZZ in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $137.00 price target on shares of AZZ in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AZZ news, insider Tara D. Mackey sold 2,923 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 22,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,042,728. This trade represents a 11.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 25,000 shares of AZZ stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.29, for a total transaction of $3,182,250.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 158,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,134,986.78. The trade was a 13.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 33,281 shares of company stock worth $4,239,080 in the last 90 days. 1.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.