AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) Stock Rated “Moderate Buy” by Wall Street Analysts

AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $153.20.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AZZ. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AZZ in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of AZZ from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AZZ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of AZZ from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of AZZ from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 15th.

Institutional Trading of AZZ

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AZZ. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AZZ in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $719,876,000. SEB Asset Management AB bought a new stake in AZZ during the 1st quarter worth about $45,297,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in AZZ during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,818,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in AZZ during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,505,000. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its position in AZZ by 64.2% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 364,927 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $49,363,000 after purchasing an additional 142,633 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.93% of the company’s stock.

AZZ Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE AZZ opened at $134.26 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.19 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $135.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $138.41. AZZ has a 52 week low of $94.61 and a 52 week high of $162.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.79.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 13th. The industrial products company reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.12. AZZ had a net margin of 9.59% and a return on equity of 14.85%. The firm had revenue of $486.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $467.14 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. AZZ has set its FY 2027 guidance at 7.000-7.300 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that AZZ will post 7.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 19th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 19th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. AZZ’s payout ratio is presently 17.30%.

About AZZ

AZZ Inc. provides metal coating services to steel fabricators and other customers. Its services include hot-dip galvanizing, which helps protect steel from corrosion, as well as other coating and finishing processes. The company also operates coil-coating facilities that apply protective and decorative finishes to steel and aluminum products. These materials serve markets including construction, transportation and appliances. AZZ focuses on metal coatings in North America. In 2023, it sold its electrical infrastructure solutions business to Nucor and shifted its focus to its metal-coating operations.