Royal Bank of Canada Trims Stock Holdings in AZZ Inc. $AZZ

Royal Bank of Canada lowered its holdings in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) by 16.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,508 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,285 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.09% of AZZ worth $3,441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in AZZ by 92.5% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 258 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in AZZ during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AZZ during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AZZ by 184.3% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 361 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of AZZ by 55.9% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 382 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. 90.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AZZ shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on AZZ from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered AZZ from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. B. Riley Financial raised their price target on AZZ from $169.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded AZZ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on AZZ from $125.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AZZ has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.25.

AZZ Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZZ opened at $151.34 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $149.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.07 and a beta of 1.12. AZZ Inc. has a one year low of $92.98 and a one year high of $162.20.

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

AZZ Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from AZZ’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 9th. AZZ’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.63%.

Insider Activity

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

AZZ 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.